O*NET -- Describes the Occupational Characteristics and Work Requirements

A recovering vocational expert told me that.  "The O*NET is not for legal purposes."  I have two questions -- where does the O*NET say that and what is the context of that statement?

The O*NET has a disclaimer:

O*NET OnLine is an application that was created for the general public to provide broad access to the O*NET database of occupational information. The site is maintained by the National Center for O*NET Development, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA).

This is a service that is continually under development. We will make every effort to keep this site current and to correct errors brought to our attention.

Pages and reports on this site contain hypertext pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. Please be aware that we do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this outside information. Further, the inclusion of pointers to particular items in hypertext is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse any views expressed or products or services offered by the author of the reference or the organization operating the site on which the reference is maintained.

 If the O*NET had a warning that it was not for legal purposes, it would be here.  It isn't.

The disclaimer tells us that the O*NET is a creature of the Department of Labor and more specifically, the Employment and Training Administration.  Allow a brief digression, the ETA was the part of the agency responsible for the DOT, SCO, GOE, and HAJ.  Back on point, the DOL has no caveat to the use of its data.  DOL says:

The O*NET system is maintained by a regularly updated database of occupational characteristics and worker requirements information across the U.S. economy. It describes occupations in terms of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required as well as how the work is performed in terms of tasks, work activities, and other descriptors.

Every occupation requires a different mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities, and is performed using a variety of activities and tasks. These distinguishing characteristics, or "descriptors", of an occupation are collected, codified, and described by the O*NET Content Model. This hierarchical model starts with six domains (or categories), describing the day-to-day aspects of the job and the qualifications and interests of the typical worker. The model includes nearly 277 descriptors collected by the O*NET program, along with other occupational data collected by other federal agencies such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

 Assuming that the O*NET cautions that it isn't for legal purposes, DOL intends the O*NET to describe the occupational characteristics and work requirements -- knowledge, skills, and abilities used to perform the activities and tasks required of work.

More importantly, SSA intends to fold the O*NET into the upcoming Occupational Information System. Occucollect folds the DOT, SCO, O*NET, ORS, and OOH into one site that provides all your data needs starting Monday, May 21, 2018.