The Washington Post has an excellent article this week by reporter Lisa Rein, entitled “Social Security denies disability benefits based on list with jobs from 1977.” You should read the article in its entirety.
The Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), published by the U.S. Department of Labor, is used by Social Security as…
Sometimes a prior job is actually more than one job at the same time. You were both a carpenter and a work site supervisor. Your were a front desk clerk at a hotel, but also cleaned rooms and sometimes carried guests’ luggage to their room. These are called composite jobs.
In every disability claim, the…
A series of recent posts here on the blog have taken a closer look at transferability of acquired job skills.
Transferability of skills is an issue when all four of the following are true:
1. Transferability is material to the determination;
2. past relevant work has been determined to be skilled or semiskilled;
3. …
Disability claimants over the age of 55 who are unable to perform their past relevant work and are limited to Light exertional work (or less) will be found disabled at step 5 in the absence of readily transferable skills (and in the absence of recent education providing direct entry to skilled work), by operation of…
Cooking in a commercial kitchen is a demanding job. You are constantly on your feet, using your hands frequently, and lifting and carrying stuff around the kitchen. The Dictionary of Occupational Titles characterizes the job of “Cook” as a Medium exertional, skilled job. That means that if the person seeking benefits is no longer able…
When a claimant is a “working supervisor,” such as a lead carpenter on a construction site, Social Security may have additional questions about that supervisory, managerial, clerical or administrative work:
…
Transferable skills are getting attention across the board in Social Security disability claims. I am particularly seeing transferable skills analyzed more frequently in DDS determinations.
At the DDS level, transferable skills are assessed with reference to POMS DI 25015.017
The POMS treatment of transferable skills is a great starting point for your review. If the concept of transferable skills is new to you, or you need a refresher, read the POMS section on transferable skills first. At the hearing level, see Social Security Ruling 82-41.…
An important aspect of your past relevant work is the skills you may have learned on the job. In the context of Social Security disability, the touchstone for job skills is Social Security Ruling 82-41. That Ruling states:
A skill is knowledge of a work activity which requires the exercise of significant judgment that…
I have three clients at various stages of the Social Security disability process whose past relevant work is solely as a surgical technician, or surgery tech. Obviously, assisting the doctor in the operating room is a demanding job. The Dictionary of Occupational Titles describes the job as Light, SVP 7 (DOT Code 079.374-022).…
When deciding a disability claim, the Social Security Administration looks at whether an individual is able to perform the duties of a job at steps 4 and 5 of the sequential evaluation. Social Security does not consider whether an individual would be hired for that job.
Social Security’s regulations directly address this issue.
