Hours Worked by Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers

Assume an individual capable of light exertion capable of occasional use of the upper extremities for reaching, handling, and fingering.  For an individual closely approaching advanced age, the inability to perform a significant range of light work results in a finding of disability.  Even for a younger individual, the limitation to occasional reaching, handling, and fingering can result in a finding of disability.

But the vocational expert has usher up her sleeve.  Here is the Labor descriptions:

DOT Narrative: 344.677-014 USHER (amuse. & rec.) Assists patrons at entertainment events to find seats, search for lost articles, and locate facilities, such as restrooms and telephones. Distributes programs to patrons. Assists other workers to change advertising display. GOE: 09.05.08 STRENGTH: L GED: R2 M1 L1 SVP: 2 DLU: 81

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

RE	HA	FI
O	O	O

REACHING: Occasionally
Extending hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction. In Part A, the rating for the Reaching component appears eighth in the first Physical Demand column under the vertical heading Re.
HANDLING: Occasionally
Seizing, holding, grasping, turning, or otherwise working with hand or hands. Fingers are involved only to the extent that they are an extension of the hand, such as to tum a switch or shift automobile gears. In Part A, the rating for the Handling component appears ninth in the first Physical Demand column under the vertical heading Ha.
FINGERING: Occasionally
Picking, pinching, or otherwise working primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand or arm as in handling. In Part A, the rating for the Fingering component appears tenth (last) in the first Physical Demand column under the vertical heading Fi.

Of the five occupations in the group of ushers, lobby attendants and ticket takers, two of them require occasional reaching, handling, and fingering: usher and children's attendant (DOT 349.677-018). The O*NET describes the occupational group as requiring occasional or less use of the hands in 43% of jobs:

Custom Report for: 39-3031.00 - Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers

https://www.onetonline.org/link/custom/39-3031.00

Exertional	%	Response
Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls — How much does this job require using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls?	20	Continually or almost continually
	32	More than half the time
	4	About half the time
	9	Less than half the time
	34	Never

But only 38% do not make repetitive movements more than occasionally:

Postural	%	Response
Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions — How much does this job require making repetitive motions?	34	Continually or almost continually
	27	More than half the time
	1	About half the time
	11	Less than half the time
	27	Never

The vast majority of these jobs are part-time:

Structural Job Characteristics	%	Response
Duration of Typical Work Week — Number of hours typically worked in one week.	7	More than 40 hours
	3	40 hours
	90	Less than 40 hours

And that is the focus of the question -- how much less than 40 hours per week does the typical part-time employee work in the industry employment.  The OOH reports median annual wages of $20,820.  But the OES reports wages at all wages at approximately 2,080 hour per year:

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$8.27	$8.99	$10.01	$11.70	$14.74
Annual Wage (2)	$17,210	$18,690	$20,820	$24,330	$30,660

The O*NET reports the same median and annual wage.  That is not consistent with the report of 90% of workers working part-time.  The question is how many hours to ushers work? 

Table A-28 reports that the broad range of service workers work 35.0 hours per week. 

Table B-2 reports that people that work in the leisure and and hospitality industry sectors work on average 26.0 hours per week. 

Table B-7 reports that people that work in the leisure and hospitality industry sectors in a non-supervisory position work 24.7 hours per week. 

Working 24.7 hours per week equates to 106.2 hours per month.  Median earnings would not amount to more than $1,180 per month, the current cut-off for substantial gainful activity.  For those not in the 10% that work full-time or more, the average number of hours drops to about 23.0 hours per week per part-time employee.  (90pt + 10ft)/100 = 24.7; ft = 40,. 

When the vocational expert cites usher or children's attendant as a target occupation at step five of the sequential evaluation process, we must ask how many hours ushers work and for the published statistical basis for that opinion.  We must confirm with the vocational expert that the industry in which ushers work with the characteristics described in the DOT/SCO is in the entertainment industry.  Then we must cite and provide copies of tables B-2 and B-7 to the ALJ.