Linda Ferra Agrees that Medium Work Requires More than Six Hours of Combined Standing and Walking

Linda Ferra is a vocational expert with a bulk provider agreement (BPA) with the Social Security Administration. 

The ALJ asks Ferra to assume a person of advanced age that can perform medium exertion.  Ferra identifies

laundry worker II, DOT 361.685-018 representing 40,000 jobs
laborer, stores, DOT 922.687-058 representing 50,000 jobs
industrial cleaner, DOT 381.687-018 representing 50,000 jobs

The medical evidence says six hours in an eight-hour day or about six hours in an eight-hour day.  That is the first step in cross-examination. 

If the person is limited to a combined six hours of standing and walking in an eight-hour day, can that person perform these three medium occupations?

 No.  

Ferra's testimony conforms to the DOT, the regulatory definition of medium work, the O*NET OnLine, and the Occupational Requirements Survey.  The fly in the ointment is SSR 83-10.  The ruling is inconsistent with the regulation, inconsistent with the document produced by the Department of Labor, subject to rebuttal, and is wrong.  Start with Appendix C of the DOT:

Medium Work - Exerting 20 to 50 pounds of force occasionally, or 10 to 25 pounds of force frequently, or greater than negligible up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects. Physical demand requirements are in excess of those for Light Work.

Not a word in the definition of medium work that even implies a six hour standing/walking upper limit for any medium occupation.  The regulation:

Medium work involves lifting no more than 50 pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of objects weighing up to 25 pounds. If someone can do medium work, we determine that he or she can also do sedentary and light work.

Nothing here to imply much less require a six hour upper limit of standing/walking for any medium occupation.  I ran a sit-stand-walk report from Occu Collect that puts the data for the occupation in one report.  Extracting from that report, I find:

51-6011.00 - Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers

Exertional	%	Response
Spend Time Sitting — How much does this job require sitting?	0	Continually or almost continually
	9	More than half the time
	0	About half the time
	12	Less than half the time
	79	Never
	%
Spend Time Standing — How much does this job require standing?	80	Continually or almost continually
	11	More than half the time
	0	About half the time
	9	Less than half the time
	0	Never
	%
Spend Time Walking and Running — How much does this job require walking and running?	35	Continually or almost continually
	28	More than half the time
	11	About half the time
	21	Less than half the time
	5	Never

Never is pretty clear -- it means never.  Less than half the time for sitting ranges from seldom to the occasional range.  More than half the time straddles the upper end of the frequent range to the lower half of the constant range.  

51-6011.00 - Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers

Series ID: ORUP1000096000001004

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: laundry and dry-cleaning workers; % of day standing/walking is required (10th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: laundry and dry-cleaning workers

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (10th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	81.3

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000096000001004

Series ID: ORUP1000096000001005

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: laundry and dry-cleaning workers; % of day standing/walking is required (25th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: laundry and dry-cleaning workers

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (25th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	87.5

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000096000001005

Series ID: ORUP1000096000001006

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: laundry and dry-cleaning workers; % of day standing/walking is required (50th percentile - median)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: laundry and dry-cleaning workers

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (50th percentile - median)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	100

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000096000001006

Series ID: ORUP1000096000001007

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: laundry and dry-cleaning workers; % of day standing/walking is required (75th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: laundry and dry-cleaning workers

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (75th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	100

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000096000001007

Series ID: ORUP1000096000001008

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: laundry and dry-cleaning workers; % of day standing/walking is required (90th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: laundry and dry-cleaning workers

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (90th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	100

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000096000001008

Standing/walking 81.3% of the day for laundry workers 

Store Laborers is part of helpers-production workers (SOC 51-9198).  The Department of Labor says:

51-9198.00 - Helpers--Production Workers

Exertional	%	Response
Spend Time Sitting — How much does this job require sitting?	8	Continually or almost continually
	8	More than half the time
	11	About half the time
	24	Less than half the time
	49	Never
	%
Spend Time Standing — How much does this job require standing?	49	Continually or almost continually
	9	More than half the time
	18	About half the time
	19	Less than half the time
	6	Never
	%
Spend Time Walking and Running — How much does this job require walking and running?	19	Continually or almost continually
	27	More than half the time
	21	About half the time
	17	Less than half the time
	15	Never

This is a very broad range of work that contains sedentary and light work.  It takes the vocational expert to place the occupation in the 49% that never sit.  

51-9198.00 - Helpers--Production Workers

Series ID: ORUP1000030A00001004

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: helpers--production workers; % of day standing/walking is required (10th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: helpers--production workers

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (10th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	75

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000030A00001004

Series ID: ORUP1000030A00001005

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: helpers--production workers; % of day standing/walking is required (25th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: helpers--production workers

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (25th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	83.3

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000030A00001005

Series ID: ORUP1000030A00001006

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: helpers--production workers; % of day standing/walking is required (50th percentile - median)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: helpers--production workers

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (50th percentile - median)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	95

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000030A00001006

Series ID: ORUP1000030A00001007

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: helpers--production workers; % of day standing/walking is required (75th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: helpers--production workers

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (75th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	100

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000030A00001007

Series ID: ORUP1000030A00001008

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: helpers--production workers; % of day standing/walking is required (90th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: helpers--production workers

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (90th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	100

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000030A00001008

The ORS suggests that the sedentary occupations do not exist and that somewhere between the 10th and 25th percentiles, all the occupations require standing/walking more than six hours in an eight-hour day.  

The ALJ is resisting Ferra's testimony so we need to lock down that industrial cleaner occupation.  

37-2011.00 - Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners

Exertional	%	Response
Spend Time Sitting — How much does this job require sitting?	0	Continually or almost continually
	0	More than half the time
	0	About half the time
	39	Less than half the time
	61	Never
	%
Spend Time Standing — How much does this job require standing?	82	Continually or almost continually
	17	More than half the time
	0	About half the time
	0	Less than half the time
	0	Never
	%
Spend Time Walking and Running — How much does this job require walking and running?	43	Continually or almost continually
	31	More than half the time
	10	About half the time
	16	Less than half the time
	0	Never

At most 17% of janitors and cleaners might fall in that six hours out of eight range but more than half the time is not the range of frequent, it is the upper part of frequent and into the bottom portion of constant.  

37-2011.00 - Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners

Series ID: ORUP1000062200001004

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners; % of day standing/walking is required (10th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (10th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	85

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000062200001004

Series ID: ORUP1000062200001005

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners; % of day standing/walking is required (25th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (25th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	90

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000062200001005

Series ID: ORUP1000062200001006

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners; % of day standing/walking is required (50th percentile - median)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (50th percentile - median)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	100

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000062200001006

Series ID: ORUP1000062200001007

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners; % of day standing/walking is required (75th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (75th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	100

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000062200001007

Series ID: ORUP1000062200001008

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners; % of day standing/walking is required (90th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (90th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	100

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000062200001008

The ORS nails the question down.  At the 10th percentile, employers expect janitors and cleaners to be on their feet 85% of the day.  

Looking back at SSR 83-10:

The regulations define medium work as lifting no more than 50 pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of objects weighing up to 25 pounds. A full range of medium work requires standing or walking, off and on, for a total of approximately 6 hours in an 8-hour workday in order to meet the requirements of frequent lifting or carrying objects weighing up to 25 pounds. As in light work, sitting may occur intermittently during the remaining time. Use of the arms and hands is necessary to grasp, hold, and turn objects, as opposed to the finer activities in much sedentary work, which require precision use of the fingers as well as use of the hands and arms.

The phrase "approximately 6 hours in an 8-hour workday" is inconsistent with the DOT and the regulation.  That phrase is inconsistent with data collected from work incumbents (O*NET OnLine) and with employer requirements (ORS).  SSR 83-10 needs to be rescinded and re-issued with definitions that fit Labor's observations, measurements, and the reality of work.