Use of the OOH and O*NET Accepted by the Court

The district court reverse and remanded Cymande S. v. Berryhill, 2019 WL 4148351, at *3 (C.D. Cal. May 16, 2019).  The decision is not available on Google Scholar.  No freebies.

This a straight Occupational Outlook Handbook and O*NET OnLine assault on vocational expert testimony mounted at the Appeals Council.  The district court summarized the issue:

Plaintiff also argues that the ALJ could not have reasonably relied on the testimony of the VE given that the VE's figures for a single job exactly matched the OOH reported figures for a category of jobs containing 18 distinct DOT job codes in one instance and 782 distinct DOT job codes in another instance.

Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers and weighers (SOC 51-9061) is the occupational group that contains 782 DOT codes.  The OccuCollect.com everything report summary for any of the 782 DOT codes (including nut sorter) states:

There are 782 DOT title(s) in this DOT-SOC O*NET-SOC Crosswalk Report

67 DOT title(s) in this DOT-SOC O*NET-SOC Crosswalk Report are Sedentary

14 are SVP 2

585 DOT title(s) in this DOT-SOC O*NET-SOC Crosswalk Report are Light

3 are SVP 1 132 are SVP 2

117 DOT title(s) in this DOT-SOC O*NET-SOC Crosswalk Report are Medium

17 are SVP 2

13 DOT title(s) in this DOT-SOC O*NET-SOC Crosswalk Report are Heavy

1 are SVP 1 6 are SVP 2

The unskilled occupations make up 173 DOT codes out of the 782 total codes.  The OOH currently describes the occupational group as typically requiring a high school diploma or equivalent, moderate-term on-the-job training, and representing 574,000 jobs.  The OOH glossary defines moderate-term as more than 30 days and up to one year.  The work is typically semi-skilled or skilled.  Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers and weighers are not typically unskilled.  A nut sorter (DOT 521.687-086) cannot represent 574,000 jobs.  

This is one of occupations identified in Biestek v. Berryhill.  The proposition that 120,000 jobs as a nut sorter existing in the national economy ever is laughable.  Justice Gorsuch identified that concept in dissent.  

Cashiers (SOC 41-2011) is the occupational group that contains 18 DOT codes.  The OccuCollect.com everything report summary for any of the 18 DOT codes (including toll collector) states:

There are 18 DOT title(s) in this DOT-SOC O*NET-SOC Crosswalk Report

5 DOT title(s) in this DOT-SOC O*NET-SOC Crosswalk Report are Sedentary

13 DOT title(s) in this DOT-SOC O*NET-SOC Crosswalk Report are Light

6 are SVP 2

The unskilled occupations make up 6 of the 18 total codes.  The OOH currently describes the occupational group as typically requiring no formal educational credential, short-term on-the-job training, and representing 3,648,500 jobs.  Toll collector cannot represent 3.4 million jobs.  

Cymande S. v. Berryhill represents progress is using the OOH combined with the O*NET crosswalk report to demonstrate the fallacy of job numbers.  Other data not mentioned by the court concerned the standing/walking of inspectors and cashiers, the predominant part-time nature of cashier work, as well as unskilled vs. semi-skilled or skilled work as reported by the O*NET (full-time) and ORS (other job characteristics).  Cymande S. v. Berryhill can be your next win if you present the vocational rebuttal to the ALJ or the Appeals Council (where AC evidence matters). 

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SUGGESTED CITATION:

Lawrence Rohlfing, Use of the OOH and O*NET Accepted by the Court, California Social Security Attorney (April 18, 2020)
https://californiasocialsecurityattorney.blogspot.com/2020/04/use-of-ooh-and-onet-accepted-by-court.html