Starbucks ordered to pay $25M to manager fired over racial bias furor

Starbucks closed 8,000 stores to teach workers about racial bias and the CEO apologized publicly after two Black men were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks in 2018.
Shannon Phillips, a former Starbucks regional manager, claimed she was fired because she was white after refusing to suspend another white employee amid the fallout.
A federal jury found Starbucks violated Phillips' civil rights and awarded her $25.6 million in damages.
Starbucks denied race had anything to do with Phillips' firing but the jury found it was a determinative factor.
The two Black men at the center of the original incident reached a confidential settlement with Starbucks.