Transferability of Skills -- POMS Updated

We discussed transferability of skills three years ago in Transferable Skills Analysis.  Last month, the Commissioner updated the TSA process description in POMS.  The discussion of Transferable Skills Analysis (TSA) as to the regulations and ruling continue to apply.  This piece updates to the current POMS 25015.017.  

Part A consists of a list of Medical-Vocational Guidelines rules that direct decisions when skills either transfer or do not transfer.  POMS is a little off on the list.  When a rule that assumes the absence of transferability directs a conclusion of "not disabled," the transferability of skills is irrelevant.  Part B lists four factors in TSA:

Transferability of skills is an issue when all four of the following are true:

1. Transferability is material to the determination;
2. The individual’s residual functional capacity (RFC) or mental residual functional capacity (MRFC) prevent the performance of past relevant work (PRW);
3. PRW has been determined to be skilled or semiskilled; and
4. The claimant does not have a mental impairment that prevents him or her from doing skilled and semiskilled work.

Part C defines skills and gives examples of what are not skills:

• Answering a standard telephone, operating a two-way radio or intercom
• Basic driving ability
• Filing papers
• Greeting customers
• Basic food preparation
• Performing routine money handling tasks

Part G cautions:

Before beginning the TSA, make sure all of the following are true:

• Transferability is material to the disability determination;
• The claimant has semi-skilled or skilled PRW;
• The claimant’s RFC or MRFC does not prevent him or her from using his or her skill(s) in other work; and
• The claimant’s description of PRW provides enough detail to perform a TSA.

 Part I is the interpretation of the skills regulation: 

Step 4 – Search for occupations related to the claimant’s PRW using the same or similar:

• guide for occupational exploration (GOE) code;
• materials, products, subject matter, and services (MPSMS) code;
• work field (WF) code;
• occupation group (first three digits of DOT code); or
• industry designation.

The phrase same or similar comes directly out of the regulation (d)(2):

(ii) The same or similar tools and machines are used; and
(iii) The same or similar raw materials, products, processes, or services are involved.

 The Revised Handbook for Analyzing Jobs defines work fields and MPSMS codes:

Work Fields: These are groupings of technologies and socioeconomic objectives that reflect how work gets done and what gets done as the result of the work activities of a job, or in other words, the purpose of the job. They summarize and classify the overall objectives of work, such as processing of materials, fabricating products, utilizing data, and providing services. The 96 Work Fields are defined and discussed in Chapter 4.

Materials, Products, Subject Matter, and Services (MPSMS): MPSMS include (a) basic materials being processed, such as fabric, metal, or wood; (b) final products being made, such as automobiles or baskets; (c) data, when being dealt with or applied, such as in dramatics or physics; and (d) services being rendered, such as barbering or dentistry. Chapter 5 contains information about this component.

 The RHAJ continues in Chapter 4 to define the concepts of work fields:

Work Fields. a component of Work Performed. are categories of technologies that reflect how work gets done and what gets done as a result of the work activities of a job: the purpose of the job. There are 96 Work Fields identified for use by the USES for classification of all jobs in the economy in terms of what gets done on the job.

Work Fields range from the specific to the general and are organized into homogeneous groups, based on related technologies or objectives. such as the movement of materials. the fabrication of products, the use of data. and the provision of services. Each Work Field is identified by a three-digit code, a brief descriptive title, and a definition. In many cases. a comment is included which enlarges upon
the definition and limits or extends the application of the Work Field. Also, cross-references are frequently included which distinguish one Work Field from other related Work Fields.

Following the definition is a list of methods verbs which illustrate the applicatiOfi of the Work Field. This list is not intended to be exhaustive. but merely representative, of the ways in'.which the objective of the Work Field can be accomplished. Note that the methods verbs listed as examples do not include those appearing in the title or definition for that Work Field. inasmuch as they are implicit in the Work Field. Some methods verbs are used as illustrative examples in more than one Work Field; however, their meanings may differ in the various listings.

It is important to understand that the concept of Work Fields involves consideration not only of the overall objective or purpose of a job, but also how the objective is attained; that is, the means by which the objective of the job is met. MTEW A are instruments and devices used by the worker to achieve the objective of the job. MTEW A are directly related to, and help describe, specific methods verbs. 

The job of a worker who performs in a first-line supervisory or helper capacity is assigned the same Work Field(s) as that of the jobs of the workers supervised or helped, because the technological objectives are the same as those of the workers supervised or helped. It is incorrect to assign Work Field 295-Administering to such supervisory jobs; or 0 II-Material Moving to helper jobs. For Things jobs that are machine-related. the Work Field is based upon what the machine does. For example, the job of a worker who tends a machine that smooths and polishes bores of shotgun barrels is assigned Work Field 051-Abrading. Prefixes. such as un or reo are implicit in the definition of a Work Field. For example. Material Moving includes unloading and removing; Filling-Packing-Wrapping includes unpacking, unwrapping. etc.

 Chapter 5 defines the concepts of MPSMS codes:

The Work Perfonned component of MPSMS includes:

Basic Materials processed, such as fabric, metal, or wood.
Final Products made, such as automobiles; cultivated, such as field crops; harvested, such as sponges; or captured, such as wild animals.
Subject Matter or data dealt with or applied. such as astronomy or journalism.
Services rendered, such as barbering or janitorial.

MPSMS is the final link in a chain describing (1) what the worker does (Worker Functions); (2) what gets done (Work Fields); (3) to what (MPSMS).

The determination and assignment of an appropriate MPSMS code and title for a specific job is essential (1) to place the job in its occupational group of the DOT and (2) to contribute to an understanding of the basic knowledge required of the worker. The assigned Work Fieldls) and MPSMS together answer the question, "What does the worker need to know?"

MPSMS categories are closely related in organization and content to categories in the Standard Industrial Classification Manual (SIC) and to educational classifications of subject matter. Some categories of MPSMS are tangible and some are intangible. Categories of tangibles cover materials and products, such as Grains and Alcoholic Beverages. Categories of intangibles involve specialized knowledge or services, such as Dramatics and Air Transportation, and cannot be expressed by listing a material or product.

 Chapter 11 defines the Guide for Occupational Exploration:

The Guide for Occupational Exploration (GOE) provides users with information about the interests, aptitudes, adaptabilities, and other requisites of occupational groups. The GOE is designed for use in self-assessment and counselor-assisted settings to help people understand themselves realistically in regard to their ability to meet job requirements.

 Because of the incorporation of worker functions (the middle three digits of every DOT code), we look to Chapter 3 for the definition of those data-people-things codes:

Worker Functions, one of the three components of Work Performed, are activities which identify worker relationships to data, people, and things.

The takeaway in comparing what the process requires now and what it required three years ago is that nothing material has changed.  The Commissioner has a stable understanding and interpretation of the TSA process.  That understanding of the skills regulation warrants Skidmore deference if not Auer deference.