Luis Mas, Ph.D. -- Housekeeping Cleaner, Assembler, and Material Distributor

 Dr. Mas testifies as a vocational witness. In a recent case, the ALJ propounded a hypothetical for a person closely approaching advanced age, possessing a high school education, lacking transferable skills, and limited:

to perform light work as defined in 20 CFR 404.1567(b) except could frequently climb, balance, crawl; occasionally stoop, kneel, crouch; requires simple repetitive tasks; can occasionally perform detailed and complex tasks; occasional contact with the public; and occasionally interact with coworkers.

Dr. Mas testified that the individual would have been able to perform the requirements of representative occupations such as cleaner housekeeping (DOT 323.687-014) jobs of which there are 200,000 nationally; assembler (DOT 706.684-022) jobs of which there are 100,000 nationally; and material distributor (DOT 230.687-010) jobs of which there are 30,000 nationally.  I call BS on every count.  Just disgusting disregard for the importance of the proceedings.  

Let's look at the easy ones first.  Assembler:

DOT: 706.684-022 ASSEMBLER, SMALL PRODUCTS I (any industry) alternate titles: bench assembler

Performs any combination of following repetitive tasks on assembly line to mass produce small products, such as ball bearings, automobile door locking units, speedometers, condensers, distributors, ignition coils, drafting table subassemblies, or carburetors: Positions parts in specified relationship to each other, using hands, tweezers, or tongs. Bolts, screws, clips, cements, or otherwise fastens parts together by hand or using handtools or portable powered tools. Frequently works at bench as member of assembly group assembling one or two specific parts and passing unit to another worker. Loads and unloads previously setup machines, such as arbor presses, drill presses, taps, spot-welding machines, riveting machines, milling machines, or broaches, to perform fastening, force fitting, or light metal-cutting operation on assembly line. May be assigned to different work stations as production needs require or shift from one station to another to reduce fatigue factor. May be known according to product assembled.

GOE: 06.04.23 STRENGTH: L GED: R2 M1 L1 SVP: 2 DLU: 79

There is an apparent conflict between occasional interaction with coworkers and the requirement to frequently work as a member of an assembly group receiving and passing parts with other workers.  

DOT 230.687-010 ADVERTISING-MATERIAL DISTRIBUTOR (any industry) alternate titles: distributor, advertising material

Distributes advertising material, such as merchandise samples, handbills, and coupons, from house to house, to business establishments, or to persons on street, following oral instructions, street maps, or address lists. May be designated according to type of advertising material distributed as Handbill Distributor (any industry); Pamphlet Distributor (any industry); Sample Distributor (any industry).

GOE: 07.07.02 STRENGTH: L GED: R1 M1 L1 SVP: 2 DLU: 77

There is an apparent conflict between occasional contact with the public the going from house to house, business to business, or engaging people on the street as the sole bona fide work function of occupation.  

That leaves the frequently cited occupation of housekeeping cleaner.  About 15 years ago, the agency told ALJs to stop including the 6 hours of sitting or standing/walking out of residual functional capacity assessments and out of hypothetical questions.  The courts have turned a blind eye to that dumbing down of the examination.  Here that practice is in action:

DOT 323.687-014 CLEANER, HOUSEKEEPING (any industry) alternate titles: maid 

Cleans rooms and halls in commercial establishments, such as hotels, restaurants, clubs, beauty parlors, and dormitories, performing any combination of following duties: Sorts, counts, folds, marks, or carries linens. Makes beds. Replenishes supplies, such as drinking glasses and writing supplies. Checks wraps and renders personal assistance to patrons. Moves furniture, hangs drapes, and rolls carpets. Performs other duties as described under CLEANER (any industry) I Master Title. May be designated according to type of establishment cleaned as Beauty Parlor Cleaner (personal ser.); Motel Cleaner (hotel & rest.); or according to area cleaned as Sleeping Room Cleaner (hotel & rest.).  

GOE: 05.12.18 STRENGTH: L GED: R1 M1 L1 SVP: 2 DLU: 86

The DOT does not describe any work function as sitting.  Commonsense tells us that housekeeping cleaners do not sit on the job other than as sporadic and incidental activities.  The O*NET confirms commonsense -- maids and housekeeping cleaners never sit in 72% of the jobs, never.  Another quarter of the jobs sit more than never and less than half the day.  The O*NET says that 3% sit about have the time.  

The 2021 ORS dataset confirms that mads and housekeeping cleaners sit 1.2 hours per day that the 90th percentile.  On average, maids and housekeeping cleaners sit 5.2% of the workday -- about 25 minutes per day.  A sycophantic response would point out that maids and housekeeping cleaners stand 5.6 hours per day at the 25th percentile.  The informed retort points out that maids and housekeeping cleaners stand 80% of the workday at the 10th percentile.  The total hours of standing in part-time work does not inform the full-time analysis at step 5 of the sequential evaluation process.  

We have to be prepared in every hearing to quickly review the DOT industry and narrative, call upon the O*NET and ORS (www.occucollect.com), and pull up Job Browser Pro to rebut VW testimony on the fly.  Otherwise, garbage testimony become the foundation of denying our client benefits.   There might be jobs for this vocational profile, just not these.  The Commissioner has the burden of proof.  

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Suggested Citation:

Lawrence Rohlfing, Luis Mas, Ph.D. -- Housekeeping Cleaner, Assembler, and Material Distributor, California Social Security Attorney (June 8, 2022)  https://californiasocialsecurityattorney.blogspot.com