There is a good article in the January 2024 issue of The Forum (NOSSCR’s monthly newsletter to its members) by North Carolina disability lawyer George Piemonte regarding cross-examination of the vocational expert at hearing regarding obselete jobs listed in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT). It is reprinted below:
Many times, the VE will list…
Social Security has published a proposed rule that shortens the lookback period for past relevant work (PRW) from the current 15 years to a 5 year period. The proposed rule would recognize that claimants often do not remember the details of a job held 15 years ago. Further, that past job has limited relevance to…
Social security has published a proposed rule which would reduce the period for past relevant work (PRW) from 15 to 5 years. The proposal is the result of a great deal of research by Social Security, and it presents a practical improvement to the disability adjudication process.
The proposed rule is currently in the comment…
Social Security published today a proposed rule change to “revise the definition of past relevant work (PRW) by reducing the relevant work period from 15 to 5 years.” Here is a link to the proposed rule.
This would be a significant (and welcome) change to the disability evaluation process. It would be a…
I have clients who need to use a cane when walking or standing. Often the cane is for balance, but sometimes also due to weakness in the legs. Social Security has policy on the vocational impact of the need to use a cane or other handlheld assistive devices (such as a walker).
Social Security Ruling…
Social Security assesses your ability to perform your past relevant work at step 4 of the sequential evaluation process.
Social Security will evaluate your ability to do the physical and mental activities that were required to perform your past work. The SSA will not consider whether or not you could actually get a job…
Most disability claims are decided on a medical-vocational basis. Sometimes too little attention is paid to the vocational part of the analysis.
At Social Security disability hearings, the administrative law judge will typically give the DDS residual functional capacity assessment as the initial hypothetical question to the vocational expert (VE) at the hearing. I have…
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. …
