Starbucks Corporation has been directed to pay over $ 25.6 million ( ₹200 crore) to the coffee chain giant’s former employees who alleged that they were treated unfairly and punished after the high-profile 2018 arrests of two Black men at one of the chain’s Philadelphia locations.
A Federal jury in New Jersey found the coffee chain to have acted in violation of a Shannon Phillips’ federal rights. A BBC report states that under New Jersey law that prohibits discrimination based on race, Starbucks have been asked to pay Phillips $600,000 in compensatory damages and $25m in punitive damages.
According to reports, Phillips has worked with Starbucks for about 13 years, but she was fired after the arrest of two Black men at the Philadelphia branch in April 2018.
One of two black men waiting in the shop was denied permission to use the toilet because he did not purchase anything.
The men- Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson said that they were at the shop for a business meeting and were waiting for someone. The two men refused to leave and staff called the police, who handcuffed the pair and escorted them from the cafe.
Their arrests were captured on camera and soon circulated across the internet. It triggered protests which led to the company closing all of its stores.
Regional manager Phillips was fired while the manager of the shop where the incident took place, who was black, kept his job, CBS reported.
Phillips sued Starbucks in 2019 and accused them of wrongful termination and of unfairly punishing white employees like her in response to the arrests.
Her lawyers argued that Phillips was used as a scapegoat to show action was being taken following the incident.
Starbucks faces heat about Pride decorations
Starbucks Corporation said it hasn’t changed its policy allowing its coffee shops to celebrate Pride month after a workers’ union said store employees in several US states had been told to take down LGBTQ-themed decorations.
Starbucks Workers United said in an email Tuesday that baristas in as many as 21 states were told they couldn’t decorate their stores to show solidarity with LGBTQ rights.
Starbucks has been outspoken in its support for LGBTQ employees for decades and said Tuesday that support is “unwavering.” It extended full health benefits to same-sex partners in 1988 and added health coverage for gender reassignment surgery in 2013.
(With agency inputs)
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Updated: 15 Jun 2023, 11:05 PM IST
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