Yesenia Carrillo is a Partner in the Fresno office of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, where she advises clients on education and employment law matters. Yesenia works closely with community college districts, K–12 school districts, special districts, and other public agencies providing advice and counsel on immigration enforcement on campuses, I-9 compliance, training, and compliance issues related to immigration matters impacting employment and education.
Yesenia advises governing boards, administrators, human resources professionals, and supervisors on a broad range of personnel matters, including employee discipline and dismissal, investigations, leaves of absence, reasonable accommodations, layoffs and workforce reductions, hiring and reemployment, employee contracts, settlement agreements, wage-and-hour compliance, and the development and implementation of personnel policies and procedures.
A significant part of Yesenia’s practice is devoted to the distinct legal and operational needs of community colleges and K–12 districts. She has handled faculty and classified employee termination proceedings and represents education clients in arbitrations and other administrative proceedings involving discipline, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and contractual disputes. She also has experience obtaining temporary and permanent restraining orders.
She advises education clients on matters related to governance, student and employee matters, Title 5 investigations and compliance, Title IX, the California Public Records Act, the Ralph M. Brown Act, and compliance with state and federal employment laws. She also assists districts with grievances, mediations, arbitrations, labor negotiations, and the drafting and interpretation of collective bargaining agreements and memoranda of understanding.
In addition to her public education practice, Yesenia represents special districts, counties, cities, and nonprofit in labor and employment matters. She advises these clients on employee discipline, workplace investigations, labor relations, wage-and-hour compliance, leaves and accommodations, public-meeting and public-records requirements, and claims involving discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. She has experience responding to complaints before the California Rights Department and the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission.
Yesenia regularly trains on a variety of topics, including Preventing Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation; Unconscious Bias and Elimination of Bias; EEO Hiring Strategies and Compliance; Ethics in Public Service and Conflicts of Interest; Title IX; Title 5; Immigration Enforcement and Compliance, Brown Act, and Telework.
Yesenia is passionate about public service and education. She provides legal representation to Kids In Need of Defense (KIND) in immigration related matters before state and immigration courts.
Before joining LCW, Yesenia conducted extensive trainings for management and cross-functional teams in both English and Spanish both in-person and remotely on sexual harassment prevention, discrimination, and abusive workplace conduct; and wage and hour compliance. She also provided advice and counsel on wage and hour claims under California and Federal law, including single plaintiff, class actions, and Labor Commissioner claims including hearings. Yesenia also handled litigation matters including conducting plaintiff depositions, defending depositions, and attending mediations and mandatory settlement conferences. She also conducted workplace investigations into allegations of misconduct, harassment, bullying, company policy violations; and Title IX college investigations. She also provided advice and counsel to school districts on charter petitions.
Professional and Community Involvement
Yesenia is very active in the community and serves in leadership positions for many organizations. She served as an elected member of the Board of Trustees for the Central Unified School District from December 2018 to December 2026; served as the President from 2020-2021 and 2026, and as the Vice President from 2024-2025. She has served as a Director for the Fresno County Bar Association; President and Vice President of the Fresno County Women Lawyers, Fresno County Employment Lawyers, and Chairperson for a local nonprofit board. She remains an active member of many of the organizations.
Recognitions
Yesenia has been honored by Super Lawyers as a Northern California Rising Star in 2024 – 2025.
Yesenia was named to Business Street’s 40 Under 40 list (2024).
