A federal jury in New Jersey determined a white former regional manager for Starbucks was fired because of her race, ordering the coffee giant on Monday (June 12) to pay her $25.6 million in damages, CBS News reported.

The case stemmed from the fallout over widespread protests against Starbucks in 2018 when an employee at the Rittenhouse Square coffee shop in Philadelphia called the police to escort two Black men from the store on suspicion of loitering. The men, both in their 20s, were at the shop for a business meeting.

The company fired regional manager Shannon Phillips, who oversaw dozens of Starbucks coffee shops in Philadelphia, South Jersey, Delaware and parts of Maryland. She sued Starbucks in 2019 for alleged racial discrimination, arguing that the company terminated her but not the Rittenhouse Square store manager, who is Black.

In a unanimous decision, the Camden jury awarded Phillips $600,000 in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages, ruling that Starbucks violated federal and state civil rights laws that prohibit racial discrimination, The New York Times reported.

In its defense, Starbucks argued that it terminated Phillips because of her poor performance after the arrests of the two Black men, Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson, who were denied access to the coffee shop’s bathroom because he didn't make a purchase.

“During this time of crisis,” the company’s “Philadelphia market needed a leader who could perform,” The Times quoted Starbucks’ court filing. “Ms. Phillips failed in every aspect of that role.”

Employment attorney Helen Rella told CBS MoneyWatch that the ruling highlights that anti-discrimination laws don’t apply just to minorities.

"It serves as a reminder to employers to carefully consider their actions to ensure that they are compliant with anti-discrimination laws across the board," Rella said.