DC Restaurant Worker Wins $6M In Abuse Case

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

DC restaurant worker Liana Estona was recently awarded $6 million in damages in her sexual harassment case against her former employer, La Carbonara Restaurant and its owner, Fekeru Bekele, reports the DC Employment Justice Center. Estona (not her real name) “came to our clinic in January 2009 because she had not been paid properly by her former employer," says the EJC. The story of sexual abuse by Bekele came out during the initial interview and the EJC referred Estona's case to local law firm Arnold and Porter.  After testimony from five expert witnesses –  who spoke of the severe physical, emotional, and economic trauma that Estona had endured – the judge awarded Estona $6 million in damages and issued a permanent injunction against Bekele, preventing him from approaching within 100 feet of Estona, her home or workplace. “We are so pleased at this more-than-positive outcome,” adds the EJC. “We are thankful for the work of Joe Meadows and his crew at Arnold and Porter, and proud that we could connect Estona with the assistance she needed through our pro bono referral program!”