Former Dishwasher, #MeToo Advocate Featured In TIME's 'Silence Breakers' Issue To Get $250K Settlement

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) —  A former dishwasher who became one of the leading faces of last year's #MeToo movement has settled a lawsuit with her former employees.

The Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes and staffing agency Excellent Maintenance Service will pay Sandra Pezqueda $250,000 as a part of a sexual harassment settlement. In her lawsuit, Pezqueda claimed she was fired after she complained to management she was sexually harassed by a supervisor.

Pezqueda was featured in Time Magazine's "Person of the Year" issue in 2017, along with other prominent "Silence Breakers" of the #MeToo movement, such as founder Tarana Burke, actress Ashley Judd and a Mexican farmworker who chose to go under the pseudonym "Isabel Pascual."

Pezqueda alleged a male supervisor pursued her for months and cut her hours after she denied his advances. She was ultimately fired.

"Representing Sandra has been a true privilege. She is a hero," Pezqueda's attorney Lauren Teukolsky said in a statement on her firm's blog Tuesday.

"After she got fired for complaining about sexual harassment, she could have just walked away. Instead, she stood up. She is part of the #metoo revolution and she inspires me every day to fight harder for women in the workplace."

The resort and the staffing agency have denied any wrongdoing.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)