Starbucks Executive Fired After Philadelphia Protests Gets Trial

A jury must decide whether Starbucks Corp. fired the White regional director of its Philadelphia area locations because of her race in the aftermath of the wrongful arrests of two Black men at a coffeehouse in the city, which sparked protests and national media coverage, a federal judge ruled.

Starbucks offered a nondiscriminatory reason for terminating Shannon Phillips, the US District Court for the District of New Jersey said. According to the company, Phillips was “physically and mentally absent from meetings” held in the wake of the incident. She seemed overwhelmed, “lacked awareness of how critical the situation was for ...