On Dec. 5, a jury issued a $11.5 million verdict against the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) over allegations that the HR organization racially discriminated against a former employee. The organization was found liable for racial discrimination and retaliation and has been ordered to pay out $1.5 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages to the plaintiff, according to court documents.

In a statement shared on its website on Friday, SHRM says that it disagrees with the verdict and plans to appeal the decision. “This claim has no merit. None. Today’s decision does not reflect the facts, the law, or the truth of how SHRM operates. We have acted with integrity, transparency, and in full alignment with our values and obligations. We remain steadfast in our mission, undeterred in our focus, and resolute in our commitment to stand up for what is right,” according to a statement on the organization’s website.

SHRM was first sued in 2022 by Rehab Mohamed, who worked at the organization as an instructional designer from 2016 until 2020. After being promoted to senior instructional designer in January 2020, Mohamed claims she noticed that her white supervisor treated her and other non-white employees differently than their white peers, including by subjecting her work to undeserved scrutiny, not allowing her to directly contact vendors, and taking credit for her work, according to her initial lawsuit.

Mohamed claimed that she was racially discriminated against by her supervisor and faced retaliation for making a formal complaint to management. She claims she continued to raise concerns about racial discrimination and retaliation to SHRM’s leadership, including to CEO Johnny C. Taylor Jr. and CHRO Sean Sullivan, according to the complaint. Mohamed’s lawsuit says that, rather than taking steps to address her claims of racial discrimination within the organization’s education department, SHRM fired her on Sept. 1, 2020.

SHRM has consistently denied all allegations. SHRM also asked the court in December to bar Mohamed from introducing evidence or argument that SHRM is a specialist in HR best practices, Business Insider reported. U.S. District Judge Gordon P. Gallagher later denied SHRM’s request, saying that the organization’s expertise in HR is integral to the circumstances of the case.