PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Starbucks has been ordered to pay millions more to a former Philadelphia-area manager who claimed she was fired because she is white.
The $2.7 million payout is on top of the more than $25 million already awarded to Shannon Phillips. She sued the company for wrongful termination after claiming she was fired because she is white.
In 2018, Phillips was let go after two Black men were arrested at the Starbucks at 18th and Spruce streets. They were at the store for a meeting and hadn’t yet ordered anything. One had asked to use the restroom. The incident led to protests, and Starbucks implemented racial sensitivity training.
In her filing, Phillips argued that as regional operations director, she had no involvement in the arrests.
Her attorney, Laura Mattiacci, said upper management was looking for a “scapegoat” amid backlash and media scrutiny.
In June, a federal jury agreed that Phillips was wrongfully terminated because of her skin color, and she was awarded $25.6 million. Now, in addition to that, a jury based in Camden, New Jersey has decided Starbucks will also have to pay her more than $2.7 million in damages.
Phillips’ supervisor testified that her race played a role in her termination and said Phillips held roundtable discussions concerning race in the weeks after the arrests.
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