Vocational Expert Handbook Video Presentation -- Sedentary Work ID'd -- The O*NET and Interaction with Others

This is part 3 of the analysis of the vocational testimony. The March 2023 version of the Social Security Vocational Expert Handbook is out. Vocational Expert Handbook (SSA Mar. 2023). A video, not found on the SSA channel on YouTube.com, explains the Handbook. The mock hearing in the middle of it all provides an example of good testimony that shocks the conscience.  

HYPO: Assume a hypothetical individual with the claimant's age, education, and past work experience is able to perform sedentary work as defined in the regulations; can perform simple routine tasks; can make simple work-related decisions; and can occasionally interact with supervisors and coworkers, and never interact with the public. Could the hypothetical individual perform any work, and, if so, could you provide me with a few examples?

Document preparer: DOT code 249.587-018; sedentary, unskilled at SVP 2 with 30,000 jobs nationally.

Addresser: DOT code 209.587-010, sedentary, SVP 2, 25,000 jobs nationally.

And cutter-and-paster: DOT code 249.587-014, sedentary, SVP 2, with 10,000 jobs nationally. 

Let me see if I have this right: three clerical jobs in an office setting have no more than occasional interaction with other people, none of whom are members of the public? That cannot be right, ever. 

The O*NET OnLine gathers data from three sources: (1) incumbents; (2) analysts; and occupational experts. General office clerks (SOC 43-9061) contains 74 DOT codes, 99 alternate titles, and both document preparer and cutter-and-paster. The O*NET data last updated in 2018 comes from incumbent responses, how people performing the work view their job duties.

The category is contact with others. ALJs will say, "I said interact, not contact." The O*NET defines contact with others:

How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?

The parenthetical examples are not mere proximity but interactive in nature. Merriam-Webster defines contact as a relationship association, communication connection, and as a go-between. Contact is not mere proximity as the word is used in the O*NET nor as an agreed upon definition in American English. 

General office clerks have contact with others:

Contact With Others — How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?	82	Constant contact with others
	14	Contact with others most of the time
	2	Contact with others about half the time
	0	Occasional contact with others
	2	No contact with others

General office clerks engage in work with a group or team:

Work With Work Group or Team — How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?	64	Extremely important
	24	Very important
	7	Important
	2	Fairly important
	2	Not important at all

And general office clerks deal with the public:

Deal With External Customers — How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job?	65	Extremely important
	14	Very important
	13	Important
	2	Fairly important
	6	Not important at all

Word processors or typists (SOC 43-9022) (the occupational group containing addresser) has similar data:

Contact With Others — How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?	69	Constant contact with others
	31	Contact with others most of the time
	0	Contact with others about half the time
	0	Occasional contact with others
	0	No contact with others

Work With Work Group or Team — How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?	49	Extremely important
	19	Very important
	20	Important
	12	Fairly important
	0	Not important at all

Deal With External Customers — How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job?	64	Extremely important
	19	Very important
	17	Important
	0	Fairly important
	0	Not important at all

Very few general office clerks have occasional contact with others, do not engage in teamwork, and/oir do not deal with external customers. No word processors or typists have any of those characteristics. 

Agency policy confirms what the O*NET says as a matter of published administrative notice. POMS DI 25020.010 sec. B.3g. says:

3. Mental Abilities Critical For Performing Unskilled Work

The claimant/beneficiary must show the ability to:

g. work in coordination with or proximity to others without being (unduly) distracted by them.   

When the O*NET describes these two occupational groups as having the bona fide occupational qualification (the expected tolerances if not the essential functions) of work, the O*NET provides the date for the Commissioner's published observation. What kind of work does not require working with a group or team? More likely, but not necessarily, semi-skilled and skilled work:

4. Mental Abilities Needed to Do Semiskilled and Skilled Work

b.  Often, there is an increasing requirement for understanding and memory and for concentration and persistence, e.g.: the ability to:

• set realistic goals or make plans independently of others.

People engaged in skilled and semi-skilled work are more likely to have work duties and do not require coordination and teamwork as compared to unskilled work. 

Commonsense tells us that clerical work is not performed with occasional interactions with others. The Commissioner knows this. The O*NET confirms commonsense and POMS (administrative notice). 

Now for something extra for no extra charge. Word processors and typists are a rapidly shrinking occupational group. It is faster for me to type than to handwrite. Dictation is a lost art. The number of clerk typists has plummeted in the last 35 years. In 1997, BLS counted typists including word processors as representing 404,570 jobs. The 2021 OOH tallies up word processors and typists at a paltry 46,100 jobs. The 2022 OEWS estimates 41,990. So please humble vocational witness, explain to me how more than half of the currently existing word processors and typists simply affix labels to outgoing mail. 

Asking for a friend. 

___________________________

Suggested Citation:

Lawrence Rohlfing, Vocational Expert Handbook Video Presentation -- Sedentary Work ID'd -- The O*NET and Interaction with Others, California Social Security Attorney (September 6, 2023) https://californiasocialsecurityattorney.blogspot.com

The author has been AV-rated since 2000 and listed in Super Lawyers since 2008.

                        

Common Sedentary DOT Codes and Contact with Others

 The sedentary occupational base for unskilled work starts out as narrow.  A significant erosion of that occupational base will frequently leave the job numbers insignificant.  SSR 96-9p.  Today, we examine the impact of a limitation to occasional contact with others, including coworkers, supervisors, and the public.  

The O*NET OnLine collects data from job incumbents through questionnaires.  The work context questionnaire asks:

6.      How much contact with others (by telephone, face-to-face, or otherwise) is required to perform your current job?

 

The report of contact with others for helpers -- production workers (O*NET 51-9198.00) provides answers:

71

Contact With Others — How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?

39    Constant contact with others 24    Contact with others most of the time 20    Contact with others about half the time 17    Occasional contact with others 0    No contact with others

Across the exertion and skill level of helpers, 17% of incumbents report occasional contact with others.  Counter intuitive, but that is the data report.  

When looking at the common unskilled sedentary occupations identified by vocational experts, the O*NET OnLine reports:

DOT Title	DOT Code	Contact with Others ≤ occasional	ONET 26.0
ADDRESSER	209.587-010	0%	42-9022.00
AMPOULE SEALER	559.687-014	10%	53-7064.00
CALL-OUT OPERATOR	237.367-014	0%	43-4041.00*
CHARGE-ACCOUNT CLERK	205.367-014	0%	43-4111.00
CUTTER-AND-PASTER, PRESS CLIPPINGS	249.587-014	2%	43-9061.00
DOCUMENT PREPARER, MICROFILMING	249.587-018	2%	43-9061.00
LENS-BLOCK GAUGER	716.687-030	2%	51-9061.00
ORDER CLERK, FOOD AND BEVERAGE	209.567-014	0%	43-4151.00
POLISHER, EYEGLASS FRAMES	713.684-038	27%	51-4033.00
SURVEILLANCE-SYSTEM MONITOR	379.367-010	3%	33-9031.00
SURVEILLANCE-SYSTEM MONITOR	379.367-010	1% *	33-9099.02*
TABLE WORKER	739.687-182	2%	51-9061.00
TELEPHONE QUOTATION CLERK	237.367-046	0%	43-4171.00
TOUCH-UP SCREENER	726.684-110	2%	51-9061.00
TUBE OPERATOR	239.687-014	1%	43-5021.00

Surveillance-system monitor is listed twice.  Gaming Surveillance Officers and Gaming Investigators (O*NET 33-9031) is reported by the O*NET.  Protective Service Workers, All Other (O*NET 33-9099.00) does not report detailed data.  The detailed occupational sub-group of Retail Loss Prevention Specialists (O*NET 33.9099.02) is reported.  Some vocational experts use retail establishments and Labor puts that category of work as inclusive of protective service workers.  We use that data here.  

 Missing from this list are the DOT codes that belong to production workers, all other as well as other occupational groups with the terminal SOC digit of "9."  The O*NET does not analyze the date for "all other" occupational groups.  

The clear takeaway from this data is the scarcity of work involving occasional or less contact with others.  We must create the conflict with the vocational testimony invariably based on anecdotal (local) experience.  

___________________________

Suggested Citation:

Lawrence Rohlfing, Common Sedentary DOT Codes and Contact with Others, California Social Security Attorney (December 3, 2021)  https://californiasocialsecurityattorney.blogspot.com    

Common Light Unskilled DOT Codes -- Standing/Walking Exceeds Six Hours

These are the DOT codes that vocational experts commonly cite as light unskilled work.  The data from the Department of Labor (whether O*NET OnLine or Occupational Requirements Survey) do not support a limitation to six hours or less of standing/walking.  

DOT Title	DOT Code	OOH     JOBS	OEWS   JOBS
ASSEMBLER, SMALL PRODUCTS I	706.684-022	203,600	194,360
ASSEMBLER, SMALL PRODUCTS II	739.687-030	203,600	194,360
BAKERY WORKER, CONVEYOR LINE	524.687-022	203,600	194,360
BAKERY WORKER, CONVEYOR LINE *	524.687-022	45,000	41,840
BASKET FILLER	529.687-010	238,000	239,340
CAFETERIA ATTENDANT	311.677-010	389,000	374,900
CASHIER II	211.462-010	3,379,100	3,333,100
CLEANER, HOUSEKEEPING	323.687-014	1,212,800	795,590
CLEANER, LABORATORY EQUIPMENT	381.687-022	2,217,000	1,990,510
ELECTRONICS WORKER	726.687-010	203,600	194,360
FAST-FOODS WORKER	311.472-010	3,455,500	3,450,120
FINAL ASSEMBLER	789.687-046	238,000	239,340
FOLDER	369.687-018	238,000	239,340
FOLDER	789.687-058	238,000	239,340
FOLDER	686.685-030	203,600	194,360
GARMENT SORTER	222.687-014	203,600	194,360
MAGNETIC-TAPE WINDER	726.685-010	203,600	194,360
MARKER	209.587-034	2,223,000	2,210,960
MARKER	781.687-042	203,600	194,360
TABLE WORKER	783.687-030	238,000	239,340
TABLE WORKER	788.687-142	203,600	194,360
TICKET SELLER	211.467-030	3,379,100	3,333,100
TICKET TAKER	344.667-010	81,500	95,600
USHER	344.677-014	81,500	95,600

Always expect pushback from the vocational expert. Naked testimony from the vocational expert is substantial evidence where:

Now say that she testifies about the approximate number of various sedentary jobs an applicant for benefits could perform. She explains that she arrived at her figures by surveying a range of representative employers; amassing specific information about their labor needs and employment of people with disabilities; and extrapolating those findings to the national economy by means of a well-accepted methodology. She answers cogently and thoroughly all questions put to her by the ALJ and the applicant's lawyer.

Biestek v. Berryhill, 139 S.Ct. 1148, 1155 (2018).  The question is:

Do you have a well-accepted methodology for extrapolating your local experience that is as or more reliable than the statistical prowess of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Employment Training Administration?

Years of experience establishing the foundation but not the methodology.  Don't accept occupations that require more than six hours of standing or walking without examining the vocational expert on methodology.  

___________________________

Suggested Citation:

Lawrence Rohlfing, Common Light Unskilled DOT Codes -- Standing/Walking Exceeds Six Hours, California Social Security Attorney (November 27, 2021)  https://californiasocialsecurityattorney.blogspot.com