Starbucks manager wins $25.6 million lawsuit after arguing she was fired for being White

A Starbucks regional manager won a $25.6 million verdict Friday after she accused the corporation of firing her for being White in response to a national backlash over the arrest of two Black men at one of its Philadelphia cafes.

A New Jersey federal jury decided in favor of Shannon Phillips, who sued Starbucks in 2019 over allegations of racial bias and discrimination, according to court filings.

It took the eight-member panel nearly five hours to award $25 million in punitive damages and $600,000 in compensatory damages to Phillips, determining that her skin color played a decisive role in her termination.

Phillips, who worked for Starbucks for 13 years and oversaw roughly 100 cafes, was fired less than a month after Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson were arrested at a Spruce Street store on April 12, 2018, for refusing to leave a table.