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Disability NEW Alternate Sitting and Standing Questions for the VE Attacking the Vocational Expert’s Testimony on the Number of Jobs Classifying a Claimant’s Previous Work Experience as Past Relevant Work Cross-Examination on U.S. Publishing Data Cross-Examination of Vocational Expert on Census Data Dealing with Drug Addiction or Alcoholism in Social Security Disability Claims Framework of the Medical-Vocational Guidelines Hearing Questions on Physical Residual Functional Capacity Information Required to Perform a Step-Four Analysis
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Cross-Examination on Disability lawyers can attack the method of compilation. by David F. Traver Excerpted from Social Security Disability Advocate’s Handbook
ALJ:
Mr. Angermeier, do you have any questions? Attorney: Let me focus on your last
hypothetical. That was sedentary. Can you give me the DOT code for the
first job you described as a general laborer? VE:
Sure. General laborer. Unskilled, sedentary 700.687-038. Attorney: Then for the unskilled
inspector what was the DOT code? VE:
The DOT code for the unskilled, sedentary inspector is 715.684-122
although I should point out that it does have an SVP code of 3 Attorney: So that is a semi-skilled
job. VE:
Correct, although in my opinion it would be a low semi-skilled job. ALJ:
Which one is that. VE:
Borderline unskilled. Attorney: Inspector number 2 in
response to the sedentary hypothetical. ALJ:
That’s an SVP 3. Okay. VE:
SVP 3. Correct. Attorney: Then the packer, what is
the DOT number? VE:
The packer, packager. 753.687-038. Attorney: The SVP on that. VE:
I’ll look it up. Attorney: That’s all right. . . .
Okay. Now, my next question then. What statistical source did you rely
upon when you gave us the numbers for these three jobs? VE:
I was relying on the Occupational Employment Quarterly which is the
compilation of figures from the Department of Labor and the U.S. Census
Bureau. I also cross referenced my numbers with the Department of
Workforce Development, numbers from Attorney: If we reduced this it was VE:
Oh boy. I actually do not have that number specifically, but in my
opinion it would be approximately 75% reduction. ALJ:
75% of the number or 25% of the number. VE:
I would say 25 to 30% of the number just given population and labor
market. Attorney: Just so we are clear, if
you said there were 418 packers statewide at the unskilled, sedentary
level, in VE:
Correct. Attorney: Okay. VE:
That is a general reduction. Attorney: For the statewide numbers
you relied upon the Occupational Employment Quarterly, correct? VE:
Correct. Attorney: That comes out
periodically. Which one did you rely upon? VE:
I was using 2006, 4 Quarter which ran through the end of December of
2006. I am momentarily awaiting the first quarter of 2007. Attorney: Save your money. Now the
Occupational Employment Quarterly reports jobs by census code, correct? VE:
Correct. Attorney: They do not report jobs
by DOT numbers? VE:
No they don’t. They group DOT codes.
Attorney: Okay. Tell me what is the
method you use to extrapolate from the Occupational Employment Quarterly
if they only report by census code? How are you able to extrapolate to a
specific DOT occupation? VE:
Once again, the numbers I gave were a compilation of the DOT titles
within a compile. So the census occupation titles, then they list the
number of DOT titles that are grouped within that. I was giving you
examples of the most prevalent positions that would be listed within
those numbers. Attorney: I understand the
methodology for U.S. Publishing to publish the Occupational Employment
Quarterly is that they will take a census code and if there are 10
occupations recorded under that census code they will assume and half of
them are sedentary and half of them are light. Correct? VE:
Correct. Attorney: Okay. There is a problem
with that methodology. It is kind of a leap of faith. Isn’t it? VE:
It is. Attorney: The problem is that the
U.S. Census Bureau is not recording jobs or collecting data by DOT
numbers and as a result publications such as Occupational Employment
Quarterly make an extrapolation that kind of defies logic in certain
instances. You would have to agree. VE:
That is true. That is true. Attorney: The overall problem is no
one goes through and collects data by DOT title. VE:
No, I wish, that would be great. Attorney: That would be great. Make
our jobs easier or more miserable—I’m not sure which. It would be
different. VE:
The data that I was working with—fortunately or unfortunately, however
you look at it, the data collection methods are consistent across from
the Department of Labor at the national level down to the County
specific information that the Department of Workforce Development
collects. So they are using the same methodology. For better or worse. Attorney: But the Occupational
Employment Quarterly relies upon data collected by the Census Bureau,
correct? VE:
Correct. Attorney: The data collected by the
Census Bureau is the data collected when we fill out census forms,
correct? VE:
Correct. Attorney: So someone fills out a
census form and says I am an assembler, we are left to guess whether
they assemble happy meals or whether they assemble the space station if
they are not more specific. Correct? VE:
Right. Attorney: And that is one of the
problems in your science. VE:
It is not an exact science. Attorney: That is all I have.
David F. Traver has represented hundreds of claimants at SSA and over 200 claimants in U.S. District Courts. He has bachelor and master degrees in vocational rehabilitation, and is the author of Social Security Disability Advocate’s Handbook, from which this article is excerpted. |
