Who is Shannon Phillips? Starbucks ordered to pay $25 million to ex-employee in racial discrimination case

Shannon Phillips is a former manager of Starbucks and she was fired after two black men were arrested at a Starbucks Philadelphia branch in 2018

Updated
Shannon-Phillips Who-is-Shannon-Phillips Shannon-Phillips-Starbucks

In a massive development, Starbucks corporation was ordered to pay a whopping $25 million to its former employee Shannon Phillips in a racial discrimination case. Shannon Phillips had accused Starbucks of firing her for being 'white' in response to massive outrage over the arrest of t of two Black men at one of its Philadelphia cafes in 2018. A federal jury in New Jersey found that Shannon's federal civil rights were violated by the global cafe chain Starbucks and she was a victim of racial discrimination. As a result, the jury ordered Starbucks to pay Shannon $600,000 in compensatory damages and $25m in punitive damages. Now, the question arises who is Shannon Phillips and why was she fired by Starbucks? To know the answer continue reading-

Who is Starbucks' former employee Shannon Phillips?

As per reports, Shannon Phillips is a former manager of Starbucks and she was fired after two black men were arrested at a Starbucks Philadelphia branch in 2018, leading to large protests. A black colleague kept his job. The Neyjersey jury found that race was also a factor in her firing and as a result, it was an outright violation of anti-discrimination laws. As per reports, two black men were denied permission to use the lavatory at a Starbucks branch in Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square in 2018 when one of two black men were waiting in the shop for another and he did not buy anything in the cafe. The two black men named- Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson were quoted saying that they were there for a business meeting and were waiting for someone.

However, when they refused to leave, staff reportedly called the police, who handcuffed them and escorted them from the Starbucks Philadelphia cafe. Their arrest was filmed and was later shared on social media which sparked a massive protest in the United States of America. The outrage was so intense that Starbucks had to close all of its 8,000 stores in the US for a day to hold anti-bias training for workers. In the meantime, Starbucks Regional Manager Shannon Phillips was fired while the manager of the shop where the incident took place, who was black was not fired. As a result, Shannon Phillips sued Starbucks, accusing them of wrongful termination and of unfairly punishing white employees. Her lawyer accused Starbucks of using Shannon as a 'scapegoat'.

How Americans reacted to Shannon Phillips' accusation?

Who is Sami Sheen? Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards' daughter opens up on taking 'unexpected job'

A user wrote, "Shannon Phillips former Starbucks manager won her lawsuit against the coffee giant and was handed $25 million in punitive damages and $600,000 in compensatory damages. A New Jersey federal jury found she was fired because she was white."

Trending