It has been about a year since the SSA instituted a policy of not disclosing in advance of the hearing the identity of the administrative law judge assigned to a particular disability claim. The policy was aimed, it appears, at those declining video hearings with judges with a poor history of granting disability claims (an
Disability Blog Roundup – Thanksgiving Weekend Edition
Thanksgiving remains my favorite holiday. Here is a little reading for the holiday weekend:
- Experience makes the difference in Social Security Disability cases by Jennifer J. Allen
- Medical Marijuana and Social Security Disability by Tomasz Stasiuk
- The Hearing and the Claimant by Kristen Brauchle
- Different impairments can be used for Steps 4 and 5 by
Local Social Security offices are falling behind
Social Security field offices are starting to fall behind on their work. I am noticing it particularly with SSI payments, which are processed by the local offices. Some SSI claims are taking months to process.
There is a hiring freeze at local Social Security offices. So when an employee leaves due to retirement, promotion or
Education that allows direct entry to skilled work
Education that "allows direct entry to skilled or semi-skilled work" is one of the variables used in the medical-vocational guideines. It rarely comes up, but I had a case last month where the claimant recently completed vocational training for medical billing (apparently, a growing field). That education allows direct entry to skilled work. If
Different impairments can be used for Steps 4 and 5
Social Security must consider your combined impairments to determine whether or not you qualify for disability benefits.
At step 4 of the sequential evaluation process, Social Security evaluates your ability to do your past relevant work. At step 5, the SSA considers evaluates your ability to do other work.
You can use different
Disability Blog Roundup – post election edition
Every other Friday I highlight articles of note regarding Social Security disability:
- I Hate To Be Gloomy, But … by Charles Hall
- It's Up to All of Us to Save Social Security by Rose Ann DeMoro
- SSA disability medical listing for Crohn’s disease by John Nicholson
- Do Disability Examiners make bad decisions, or do Social
Spotlight: the Sedentary Exertional Level
Each month, I shine the spotlight on a previous post that discusses an issue regarding Social Security disability law that remains highly relevant today.
Social Security classifies the physical exertion requirements of jobs as sedentary, light, medium, heavy and very heavy.
The sedentary exertional level is an important landmark in the Social Security disability landscape.
You will testify at your Social Security disability hearing
The hearing with a Social Security administrative law judge is critically important, because it is the only time that you are in the same room with the person deciding your claim for disability benefits.
The primary purpose of the hearing is to take your testimony. Many clients do not realize this, and have an expectation that the
ALJ hearing: address the inconsistencies in the claim file
Just prior to a recent hearing for a Social Security disability claim, the administrative law judge told me his specific concerns about the case. I wish that would happen before every hearing.
In this particular claim, there was a disparity between the objective testing of the claimant's vision in the doctor's office and the real-life
Social Security and the Medical-Vocational Guidelines
The Medical-Vocational Guidelines are used by Social Security to determine disability due to exertional impairments at step 5 of the sequential evaluation process.
The guidelines, or the "grids," consider a claimant's exertional level (that's the medical part) and the claimant's age, education and work history (the vocational factors). Depending upon these medical-vocational factors, the SSA