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This Appeals Council Order came across my desk today. The AC remanded the claim for lack of compliance with Ruling 24-3p, using this language:

The vocational expert did not comply with the requirements of Social Security Ruling 24- 3p, and the Administrative Law Judge did not otherwise obtain the needed information (see also HALLEX HA 01260.074). As explained in Social Security Ruling 24-3p, our adjudicators are responsible for evaluating vocational expert evidence within the context of the overall evidence in a claim. If the vocational expert does not provide the expected information and explanation as outlined in Social Security Ruling 24-3p, the Administrative Law Judge will usually need to develop the record with sufficient evidence to make a supported finding at steps four and five. In the present case, the vocational expert did not identify the data sources relied on in providing evidence, he did not explain his general approach to estimating job numbers, and there is no evidence that the record was developed with the needed information as required in Social Security Ruling 24-3p. Accordingly, because the vocational expert testimony is not compliant with the requirements in Social Security Ruling 24-3p, additional vocational testimony consistent with the requirements of Social Security Ruling 24-3p is required (see also HALLEX HA 01260.074).

Now, this will be easy for the ALJ to fix upon remand. But it is interesting that the Appeals Council is enforcing these requirements. Ruling 24-3p, in my view, is just a bandage over the scab of outdated vocational evidence used routinely by vocational witnesses and accepted by Social Security at disability hearings. The randomness of this evidence is a significant procedural due process problem for the SSA. I haven’t had a chance to litigate this issue yet in federal court, but that day will come.

This AC remand was from December 2025. The ALJs will get the memo soon enough, and make the required inquiries at every hearing. But in the meantime, the lack of inquiry at hearing about data sources is a basis for a remand.

Disability Determination Services (DDS) are the state agencies that make initial and reconsideration determinations for Social Security disability and SSI claims. That is where the medical records are ordered, and the claim is evaluated by a disability adjudicator.

We are now seeing growing delays in Staging, which occurs after an initial claim claim or Reconsideration request has been processed by the local office and sent to DDS. Staging is the period of time that the claim is pending at DDS awaiting the assignment of a disability adjudicator. Currently in Maine, I have an initial claim that has been in Staging for 7 months. The client filed an application last summer, and it was sent to DDS on August 5, 2025. Here we are more 7 months later, and no adjudicator has been assigned. The Maine DDS is operating at about half staff. They do not appear to be hiring new disability adjudicators, and it takes months to train a new person at that job.

Reconsideration cases are being sent out-of-state, most recently to Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, where there is available capacity. So Reconsideration claims are mostly moving forward, with a few exceptions. I have 3 Reconsideration claims that have not been assigned after over 5 months.

This is not the fault of the individual disability adjudicators, who continue to do yeoman’s work. It is due to a critical scarcity of resources at DDS, and also due to Social Security’s emphasis on CDRs (Continuing Disability Reviews) rather than processing new claims.

Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) is the amount of money that one can earn monthly and still qualify for Social Security disability benefits. The amount is adjusted each year for cost of living, as shown by this table. In 2025, the amount was $1,620 per month. This year, it rises to $1,690. SGA is based on gross pay, before payroll taxes are withheld.

The SGA amount is important for two groups of people:

  • A person applying for disability benefits must have (or be expected to have) a period of 12 consecutive months with wages below SGA (subject, of course, to the rules for unsuccessful work attempts and Impairment Related Work Expenses).
  • A person receiving Title II disability benefits can earn up to the SGA amount and still receive benefits (be sure to also take a look at the trial work rules).

For those receiving Title II disability benefits and working part-time, it is your responsibility to keep track of your monthly earnings and make sure they remain below the level of SGA.

Social Security field offices, hearing offices, and the Appeals Council are all operating during the shutdown. Those staffing Social Security offices are not receiving their paychecks during the shutdown. However, they continue to stoically go about their duties.

DDS offices are operating as well. However, DDS does not have funding for consultative exams during the shutdown, so those exams are not being scheduled. This may hold up some claims.

As always, if you can conduct your business online, do so.

Social Security uses an electronic claim file for its disability claims. Representatives can upload records, forms, and correspondence directly into the file. It is a terrific system, and is appreciated particularly by those of us who have been doing this long enough to know what it was like using the old paper claim files, circa 2006 and before.

Typically, when a document is uploaded, it shows up in the Case Documents section of the electronic file within hours, and certainly the following day. In the past few days, documents are not getting into the file overnight or even the next day, even though properly uploaded, with a receipt for the document.

Anyone else experiencing this?

Chronic pain medical terminology is evolving, to reflect ongoing medical research. The latest term to enter my orbit as a Social Security disability lawyer is nociplastic pain syndrome. Nociplastic pain is a type of chronic pain characterized by altered pain processing in the nervous system, where pain is experienced despite the absence of clear tissue damage or nerve injury.

The term recognizes that there is objective evidence of states in which the nociceptive system is sensitized in the absence of or as a result of chronic nociceptive or neuropathic pain stimuli. Classic amongst these conditions are fibromyalgia and complex regional pain syndrome.

Nociplastic pain is characterized by allodynia, hyperalgesia, spread or migratory character to the distribution of pain, and pain out of proportion to any nociceptive for neuropathic input. This is the result of sensitization within the nociceptive system that can occur throughout the nociceptive chain. The free nerve endings of primary nociceptors can be sensitized, the transmission at the primary to secondary nociceptor synapse, the secondary nociceptor, and the pain neurotag are all sensitized.

Nociplastic pain can exist by itself with no nociceptive or neuropathic pain problem, but also exists in combination with or residual to these other mechanisms of pain, contributing to its prolonged nature.

Disability Determination Services (DDS) are the state agencies that make initial and reconsideration determinations for Social Security disability and SSI claims. That is where the medical records are ordered and the claim is evaluated by a disability adjudicator.

For quite a while, there has been a bottleneck at DDS for claims awaiting medical review, and claims are spending months in the queue awaiting review. This obviously delays resolution of those claims.

Additionally, we are now seeing growing delays in Staging, which occurs after an initial claim claim or Reconsideration request has been processed by the local office and sent to DDS. Staging is the period of time that the claim is pending at DDS awaiting the assignment of a disability examiner. Currently in Maine, I have an initial claim that has been in Staging for 5 months. I filed the claim in January, and it was sent to DDS on February 18, 2025. Here we are 5 months later, and no adjudicator has been assigned. It is frustrating for lawyer and client alike.

Once the field office processes an initial claim for Social Security disability or SSI, the claim gets sent to DDS for a determination. DDS assigns a disability adjudicator who manages the claim. That person will order medical records, send forms to the claimant for completion, and ultimately will make a determination of whether or not that person is disabled under Social Security’s rules.

When a claim arrives at DDS, however, it is not immediately assigned to an adjudicator. A claim goes to “staging,” where the claims sit without development until they are assigned in the order they are received.

I have initial claims that are approaching 4 months in staging. Because initial claims are given priority, the staging delay for claims at Reconsideration is even longer, 6-7 months and counting.

Many DDS agencies already had a bottleneck waiting for medical review. Claims that are ready to medical review sit in the queue awaiting review from the limited number of doctors available to review the claims and assess functional limitations. Those delays are months, depending on the state.

The staging delays compound that wait for a determination. It should not take months and months to have a claim assigned to a disability adjudicator.

Social Security disability hearings are often held by video, using Microsoft Teams. While the shift to video hearings has improved scheduling flexibility and allowed many cases to move forward without long delays, it has also introduced a layer of technology that can catch clients—and sometimes representatives—off guard.

Many claimants have never used Microsoft Teams before the day of their hearing. Even clients who are generally comfortable with smartphones or tablets may have trouble navigating Teams the first time, particularly when it comes to downloading the app, entering the hearing, or troubleshooting audio and video settings. The last thing anyone wants is to spend the first 15 minutes of a scheduled hearing trying to get connected, especially when the ALJ and hearing reporter are already waiting.

The solution is simple: schedule a Microsoft Teams video call with your client in advance of the hearing.

This short prep session offers multiple benefits:

  • Ensures they can access Teams: Some clients may need help downloading the app or understanding how to join via link or meeting ID.
  • Tests their device: Microphones, cameras, and speakers all need to work properly. If there’s an issue, you’ll have time to pivot to a different device.
  • Gives them confidence: Just as we prepare our clients for questioning, we should also prepare them for the virtual environment. Familiarity with the format reduces stress.
  • Avoids surprises: Sometimes the client’s preferred device turns out to be incompatible, or they’re planning to take the call from a location with poor reception. These are problems you can solve ahead of time—not while the judge is waiting.

Ideally, the test run should be held a few days before the hearing, and it should be conducted on the same device and in the same location the client plans to use during the hearing itself.

A quick Teams check can make all the difference on hearing day.