Jes Lietaer is an Associate in the San Diego office of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, where she provides advice and counsel on a broad range of labor and employment law matters.
Jes provides expert Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) advice and counsel, including regular rate audits.
In the area of benefits and retirement, Jes advises clients on CalPERS compliance as well as representing clients in CalPERS administrative proceedings. Jes advises on state and federal family leave laws, and counsels our clients on reasonable accommodations and the disability interactive process.
In the area of labor relations, Jes conducts MOU audits and provides our clients negotiations advice. Jes represents our clients in grievance arbitrations.
Jes regularly advises public safety clients, including reviewing internal investigations and disciplinary matters.
Prior to joining LCW, Jes served as a Civil Rights Attorney with the Department of Veterans Affairs in Murrieta, California. In that role, she adjudicated employment discrimination complaints under federal statutes including Title VII, the Rehabilitation Act, the ADEA, the EPA, and GINA.
Jes consistently managed a high-volume caseload, handling between 80 to 120 cases annually depending on complexity. She also served as Associate Director during a six-month detail assignment, where she led a team of over 20 attorneys, implemented strategic initiatives to reduce a significant case backlog, and mentored new attorneys through a structured onboarding program.
Before her tenure with the VA, Jes was an Attorney in the National Employment Litigation Office of the U.S. Postal Service, where she served as lead counsel on complex class action matters, including claims involving discrimination, retaliation, wage and hour violations, and statutory compliance. These cases involved tens of thousands of putative class members and multimillion-dollar valuations. Jes developed litigation strategy, oversaw discovery, collaborated with technical and economic experts, and managed support teams to bring cases to resolution. Earlier in her career at a prominent Southern California-based law firm, Jes independently litigated matters before the EEOC, MSPB, and federal district courts.
Jes began her legal career as an AmeriCorps Member and Program Coordinator with the Massachusetts Justice Project, where she advocated for indigent clients and supervised legal interns statewide.
Jes earned her Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law. She also holds a Master of Arts in Film and Literature from Claremont Graduate University and a Bachelor of Arts in English with minors in Spanish and History, summa cum laude, from West Chester University of Pennsylvania.
