Judge Francine L. Applewhite sits in the Washington, DC District Office. She presides over cases involving workers’ compensation (coal miners, longshore workers, land defense-based workers); employment-based immigration; whistleblowers; fair labor standards; and fair wage determinations and serves as a Settlement Judge.

Prior to her appointment with the Department of Labor, she served as the Chief Judge of the Social Security Administration, Washington, DC Hearing Office from November 2015 to July 2018. In addition, to presiding over her own case load, she managed a staff of 55 including 8 line judges. Judge Applewhite has also served as a line judge in the Baltimore, MD and the Shreveport, LA Hearing Offices.

Before her judicial appointment, in June 2012, Judge Applewhite concentrated her legal career on immigration, family and juvenile law. She maintained a successful legal practice, representing clients nationally and internationally. She also served as a District Court Commissioner with the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Maryland, and as a Hearings Examiner with the Boston Water and Sewer Authority.

Judge Applewhite is a member of several organizations that nurture and develop young attorneys, law students, and college students with an interest in the law. She is the Co-Chair of the National Association of Women Judges Diversity and Inclusion Committee and Chair of the Maryland Chapter.

A dual degree graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, she holds Bachelor of Arts Degrees in Psychology and English. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland, Francis King Carey School of Law, and was admitted to the practice of law in 1988.