A court in California awarded baristas at Starbucks cafes in California $105 million on Thursday, ruling that the company had wrongly allowed supervisors to share in tips, the New York Times reports.

The judgment by Judge Patricia Y. Cowett of California Superior Court in San Diego could have broader ramifications for the restaurant industry in California and around the country.

Starbucks, the Seattle-based coffee chain, said it would appeal the decision, which it described as “fundamentally unfair and beyond all common sense and reason.”

The case centers on the division of labor between managers and rank-and-file workers. Under California labor law and rules, tips can be pooled and shared among workers but restaurant owners or their “agents,” which are typically construed to mean managers and supervisors, cannot share in the money.

Like baristas, shift supervisors at Starbucks make coffee and serve customers, but they are also responsible for directing other employees, setting schedules and doing other managerial work.

“The thing that makes this hard for employers is that an employee can be in the middle of two different roles,” said Sydney L. Howell, an employment lawyer in San Francisco who was not involved in the case.

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