Starbucks Ordered to Pay Extra $2.7m to Woman Who Said She Was Fired for Being White

A New Jersey federal judge has ordered Starbucks to pay a former employee who was awarded $25.6 million in a wrongful termination suit an extra $2.7 million in damages.

Shannon Phillips, a former regional director for the chain, sued the coffee giant in 2019, claiming that she was fired for being white.

On Wednesday, Judge Joel Slomsky ordered Starbucks to pay Phillips $2,736,755 in back pay, front pay and tax gross, court documents show.

The ruling comes after a Camden jury ordered the coffee giant to pay Phillips $25.6 million in settlement money, including punitive and compensatory damages, following a trial in June.

Phillips, 52, claimed in her lawsuit that “her race was a determinative factor” in Starbucks’ decision to fire her in the wake of a 2018 racial firestorm.

In April 2018, two Black men — Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson — were arrested while waiting for a business meeting after an employee called 911 and accused the men of trespassing after they refused to make a purchase or leave the store. {snip}

Less than a month after the arrests, Phillips was notified of her termination, despite claiming that she wasn’t at the store that day and was not involved in the arrests in any way.

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