Lisa Grasso Egan, a labor lawyer with a history of representing municipalities and government agencies, was named Friday as the state’s undersecretary for labor relations.

Egan succeeds Linda Yelmini, a longtime state employee who was forced out of the job. Her appointment was announced by Ben Barnes, the secretary of policy and management.

Egan is the former director of labor relations for the city of New Haven. She is now a senior partner with a labor practice at Berchem, Moses & Devlin of Milford.

 “Lisa’s long experience representing government entities makes her the right person to take on the task of reorganizing this critical function at  OPM,” Barnes said in a statement.