From CNN:
A jury on Monday returned a $25.6 million verdict in favor of a former Starbucks regional director who sued the company for wrongfully firing her, claiming she was terminated for being White. Shannon Phillips, who worked for Starbucks for about 13 years and managed a region of stores, was fired after the arrest of two Black men at a Philadelphia Starbucks in 2018. In a lawsuit first filed in 2019, Phillips alleged Starbucks "took steps to punish White employees who had not been involved in the arrests, but who worked in and around the city of Philadelphia, in an effort to convince the community that it had properly responded to the incident." Starbucks, which denied the claims at the time, said she was let go due to an "absence of leadership during this crisis." In the wake of the jury's verdict this week, Starbucks said it is disappointed in the decision and is evaluating its next steps.
