Starbucks Ordered to Pay $25 Million Over Racial Discrimination Lawsuit

Starbucks must pay a fired employee $25 million after a federal jury found the coffee chain violated the employee’s civil rights.

For Context: Starbucks faced nationwide backlash in 2018 after an employee at a Philadelphia branch called the police on two black men who were sitting in the store without purchasing anything. A video of police removing the men from the store in handcuffs went viral online, leading many to deem the incident racial profiling. The incident sparked protests at Starbucks locations across the country. Shannon Phillips, a Starbucks regional director in Philadelphia who claimed she was not present at the location on the day of the incident and not involved in calling the police, was fired soon after. She sued for wrongful termination, arguing she was fired because she was white and that Starbucks was punishing white employees disproportionately in response to the backlash. 

Key Quotes: In court, Starbucks argued Phillips was terminated because she “appeared overwhelmed, frozen and lacked awareness of how critical the situation was for Starbucks and its partners.” ABC News (Lean Left bias) quoted Phillips’ lawyer stating, “Starbucks chose not to terminate the District Manager of the store where the arrests took place, who was Black, but instead terminated his White supervisor, Ms. Phillips.”

How The Media Covered It: Outlets across the spectrum covered the ruling mildly. BBC News (Center bias) did not mention Phillips’ race in its headline, while most other coverage did.