Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Fresno Suspect Caught After Jumping Out of Second-Floor Window, 2 Others Arrested

14 hours ago

Tesla Has Applied to Arizona for Robotaxi Service Certification, State Transport Department Says

14 hours ago

Evacuations Ongoing as San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Scorches Tens of Thousands of Acres

14 hours ago

US Senate to Vote on Trump Aid, Broadcasting Cuts as Deadline Looms

14 hours ago

US Health Department Widens Immigrant Benefit Restrictions

15 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Stabbing That Left Man Critically Injured

15 hours ago

Madera County Authorities Seek Next of Kin for North Fork Man

15 hours ago

Froot Loops Maker WK Kellogg Agrees to $3.1 Billion Deal From Italy’s Ferrero

16 hours ago

China Signals Willingness to Sell Fighter Jets as Iran Eyes J-10 Aircraft

16 hours ago

Tulare County Man Arrested in Ivanhoe Shooting, Second Suspect Still at Large

17 hours ago
White Starbucks Manager Awarded $25 Million After Firing Found to Be Racially Motivated
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
June 15, 2023

Share

Jurors in federal court have awarded $25.6 million to a former Starbucks regional manager who alleged that she and other white employees were unfairly punished after the high-profile arrests of two Black men at a Philadelphia location in 2018.

Shannon Phillips won $600,000 in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages on Monday after a jury in New Jersey found that race was a determinative factor in Phillips’ firing, in violation of federal and state anti-discrimination.

In April 2018, a Philadelphia store manager called police on two Black men who were sitting in the coffee shop without ordering anything. Phillips, then regional manager of operations in Philadelphia, southern New Jersey, and elsewhere, was not involved with arrests. However, she said she was ordered to put a white manager who also wasn’t involved on administrative leave for reasons she knew were false, according to her lawsuit.

Phillips said she was fired less than a month later after objecting to the manager being placed on leave amid the uproar, according to her lawsuit.

The company’s rationale for suspending the district manager, who was not responsible for the store where the arrests took place, was an allegation that Black store managers were being paid less than white managers, according to the lawsuit. Phillips said that argument made no sense since district managers had no input on employee salaries.

The lawsuit alleged Starbucks was instead taking steps to “punish white employees” who worked in the area “in an effort to convince the community that it had properly responded to the incident.”

Fired Manager a ‘Sacrificial Lamb,’ Says Attorney

During closing arguments on Friday, Phillips’ lawyer Laura Mattiacci told jurors that the company was looking for a “sacrificial lamb” to calm the outrage and show that it was taking action, Law360 reported. Picking a Black employee for such a purpose “would have blown up in their faces,” she said.

Starbucks denied Phillips’ allegations, saying the company needed someone with a track record of “strength and resolution” during a crisis and replaced her with a regional manager who had such experience, including navigating the aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, Law360 reported.

Phillips’ attorney, however, cited earlier testimony from a Black district manager, who was responsible for the store where the arrests took place, who described Phillips as someone beloved by her peers and worked around the clock after the arrests.

In an email to The Associated Press, Mattiacci confirmed the award amount and said the judge will consider awarding back pay and future pay, as well as attorney’s fees. Mattiacci told the New Jersey Law Journal that she will seek about $3 million for lost pay, and roughly $1 million on her fee application. Starbucks declined comment Tuesday.

In the April 2018 incident, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson were arrested in a Starbucks coffee shop near tony Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia shortly after the manager called police to report that two men were refusing to either make a purchase or leave the premises. They were later released without charges.

Video of the arrest prompted national outcry and led the current CEO of Starbucks to personally apologize to the men. The company later reached a settlement with both men for an undisclosed sum and an offer of free college education. The company also changed store policies and closed locations across the country for an afternoon for racial-bias training.

The two men also reached a deal with the city of Philadelphia for a symbolic $1 each and a promise from officials to set up a $200,000 program for young entrepreneurs. The Philadelphia Police Department adopted a new policy on how to deal with people accused of trespassing on private property — warning businesses against misusing the authority of police officers.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Some of Iran’s Enriched Uranium Survived Attacks, Israeli Official Says

DON'T MISS

Mahmoud Khalil Seeks $20 Million From Trump Administration Over Immigration Arrest

DON'T MISS

Madera County Authorities Seek Public’s Help Finding Next of Kin for Man Who Died in Hospital

DON'T MISS

Six Secret Service Agents Punished Over Trump Assassination Attempt

DON'T MISS

Fresno Teens Arrested in Violent Assaults That Injured Two Men, Including Elderly Victim

DON'T MISS

Wonderful Co. Has a New Face Promoting Pistachios: MVP Josh Allen

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Francisco Salvador Zuniga

DON'T MISS

Fire Damages Donations at Fresno Mission Thrift Store

DON'T MISS

Oil Falls Amid Bearish Trump Tariff Outlook

DON'T MISS

Higher Premiums and Lost Coverage: How Trump’s Budget Will Change Health Care in California

UP NEXT

Walmart Recalls Ozark Trail Bottles After Three Reported Injuries, US Agency Says

UP NEXT

Blackstone Businesses Demand Fresno Homeless Orgs Stop Drop-Offs on Private Property

UP NEXT

Uber Named Official Rideshare, Delivery Partner for Los Angeles Games

UP NEXT

iPhones Now Eligible for Starlink Satellite Texting

UP NEXT

Nvidia-Backed Perplexity Launches AI-Powered Browser to Take on Google Chrome

UP NEXT

X CEO Yaccarino to Step Down in Surprise Move

UP NEXT

Nvidia Leaps to $4 Trillion as Wall Street Shakes off Tariff Concerns

UP NEXT

Italy’s Ferrero Nears Deal to Buy Froot Loops Maker WK Kellogg, Source Says

UP NEXT

TSA Set to Let Airport Travelers Keep Their Shoes on, Media Reports Say

UP NEXT

Space Industry Urges Congress Not to Axe System That Prevents Satellite Collisions

Six Secret Service Agents Punished Over Trump Assassination Attempt

11 hours ago

Fresno Teens Arrested in Violent Assaults That Injured Two Men, Including Elderly Victim

11 hours ago

Wonderful Co. Has a New Face Promoting Pistachios: MVP Josh Allen

12 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Francisco Salvador Zuniga

12 hours ago

Fire Damages Donations at Fresno Mission Thrift Store

12 hours ago

Oil Falls Amid Bearish Trump Tariff Outlook

12 hours ago

Higher Premiums and Lost Coverage: How Trump’s Budget Will Change Health Care in California

13 hours ago

Fresno County Fire Destroys Structures, Contained at 20 Acres

13 hours ago

State Department Says Reorganization Plan Moving to Implementation

13 hours ago

Fresno Suspect Caught After Jumping Out of Second-Floor Window, 2 Others Arrested

14 hours ago

Some of Iran’s Enriched Uranium Survived Attacks, Israeli Official Says

WASHINGTON — Israel has concluded that some of Iran’s underground stockpile of near-bomb-grade enriched uranium survived American and Israel...

9 hours ago

9 hours ago

Some of Iran’s Enriched Uranium Survived Attacks, Israeli Official Says

Mahmoud Khalil speaks in an interview with Reuters in New York City, U.S., July 2, 2025. (Reuters File)
10 hours ago

Mahmoud Khalil Seeks $20 Million From Trump Administration Over Immigration Arrest

The Madera County Sheriff’s Office is seeking help locating the next of kin of Jeffrey Keith Cable, who died June 24, 2025, and whose family remains unidentified. (Madera County SO)
10 hours ago

Madera County Authorities Seek Public’s Help Finding Next of Kin for Man Who Died in Hospital

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump with his bloodied face is assisted by the Secret Service as multiple shots rang out during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 13, 2024. (AP File)
11 hours ago

Six Secret Service Agents Punished Over Trump Assassination Attempt

11 hours ago

Fresno Teens Arrested in Violent Assaults That Injured Two Men, Including Elderly Victim

12 hours ago

Wonderful Co. Has a New Face Promoting Pistachios: MVP Josh Allen

Francisco Salvador Zuniga is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for July 10, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
12 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Francisco Salvador Zuniga

A fire at the Fresno Mission Thrift Store on Thursday, July 10, 2025, damaged up to 30 pallets of donations, forced a road closure, and led to a temporary halt in operations, officials said. (Google Maps Screenshot)
12 hours ago

Fire Damages Donations at Fresno Mission Thrift Store

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend