NLRB appoints four new administrative law judges

The National Labor Relations Board today announced the appointments of Heather Joys, Dickie Montemayor, Thomas Randazzo and Lisa Thompson as administrative law judges in its Division of Judges, replacing judges who have recently retired or will shortly retire.  They are transferring to the Board from similar positions with the Social Security Administration.
The National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency vested with the power to safeguard employee rights to organize and to determine whether to have unions as their bargaining representative.  The agency also acts to prevent and remedy unfair labor practices committed by private sector employers and unions.
With offices in Washington, D.C., New York City, San Francisco and Atlanta, the Division of Judges is responsible for docketing unfair labor practice cases brought by the Board’s General Counsel on charges filed by unions, employers and individual employees.  The Division disposes of those cases by settlement or by conducting trials and issuing initial decisions, which may then be appealed to the five-member Board and thereafter to an appropriate United States Court of Appeals.
Judge Joys was a judge with the Social Security Administration for the last 5 years.  Before joining Social Security, she spent 17 years as a trial attorney and supervisor at the United States Department of Labor, mostly litigating cases before the Occupational Safety and Review Commission and the Mine Safety and Review Commission.  She also defended the Department in personnel actions and handled other employment-related litigation.  Judge Joys received her B.A. degree from St. Olaf College and her J.D. degree from the University of Wisconsin School of Law.  She also earned a Masters degree from the University of Wisconsin’s Industrial Relations Research Institute.  Judge Joys is assigned to the Division’s Atlanta office.   
Judge Montemayor served as a Social Security judge for two and a half years.  Before joining Social Security, he spent some 24 years as a lawyer and an administrative judge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), including a stint as a regional office chief administrative judge.  He also spent 2 years in the private practice of law.  Judge Montemayor is a graduate of the University of Wyoming and its school of law.  He will take his assignments from the San Francisco office of Judges. 
Judge Randazzo spent a little over 3 years as a Social Security judge.  Before that, he spent his entire legal career with the National Labor Relations Board.  He was a staff counsel to several Board members for about 4 years.  He later transferred to the Board’s regional office in Cleveland, where he served as a senior trial attorney for about 18 years.  Judge Randazzo received his undergraduate degree from Allegheny College and his JD degree from the University of Toledo School of Law.  He also earned an LLM degree from Georgetown University Law Center.  Judge Randazzo will take his assignments from the Washington office of Judges.
Judge Thompson spent 3 years as a Social Security judge.  Before her appointment as a Social Security judge, she served as an administrative judge with EEOC for 9 years.  She also worked several years as an attorney in the private practice of law, specializing in various aspects of employment law.  Judge Thompson received her undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas and her JD degree from St. Louis University School of Law.  She will take her assignments from the San Francisco office of Judges.