Jennifer Barrera oversees the development and implementation of policy and strategy as executive vice president and represents the California Chamber of Commerce on legal reform issues. She led CalChamber advocacy on labor and employment and taxation from September 2010 through the end of 2017. As senior policy advocate in 2017, Barrera worked with the executive vice president in developing policy strategy. She was named senior vice president, policy, for 2018 and promoted to executive vice president as of January 1, 2019. In addition, she advises the business compliance activities of the CalChamber on interpreting changes in employment law.
From May 2003 until joining the CalChamber staff, she worked at a statewide law firm that specializes in labor/employment defense, now Carothers, DiSane & Freudenberger, LLP. She represented employers in both state and federal court on a variety of issues, including wage and hour disputes, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, and wrongful termination. She also advised both small and large businesses on compliance issues, presented seminars on various employment-related topics, and regularly authored articles in human resources publications.
Barrera earned a B.A. in English from California State University, Bakersfield, and a J.D. with high honors from California Western School of Law.