Unskilled Work -- Not Defined in the DOT

Unskilled work is a phrase that the Dictionary of Occupational Titles does not use and does not define. The DOT does define specific vocational preparation (SVP) with SVP 1 requiring short time and SVP 2 requiring up to 30 days. SSA has long defined unskilled work as requiring SVP 1 or 2. Or has it?

The regulations define unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled work. 20 CFR § 404.1568. Subsection (a) defines unskilled work:

Unskilled work is work which needs little or no judgment to do simple duties that can be learned on the job in a short period of time. The job may or may not require considerable strength. For example, we consider jobs unskilled if the primary work duties are handling, feeding and offbearing (that is, placing or removing materials from machines which are automatic or operated by others), or machine tending, and a person can usually learn to do the job in 30 days, and little specific vocational preparation and judgment are needed. A person does not gain work skills by doing unskilled jobs.

 The first sentence contains the word that. Merriam-Webster defines that in paragraph 1.c as "the kind or thing specified as follows." The structure of the definition implies three elements to the definition of unskilled work: (1) little or no judgment; (2) doing simple duties; and (3) learned in a short period of time. If the occupation requires more than little or no judgment, requires doing more than simple duties, or requires a learning in more than a short period of time, it is not unskilled on the Commissioner's regulation. 

The regulation continues to define simple duties that require little or no judgment. Those kinds of duties require: (1) handling; (2) feeding and off bearing; and (3) machine tending. Those duties can be learned in 30 days and require little specific vocational preparation and judgment. We see not only three types of duties but also 30 days or less of training (SVP) and little judgment. The critical word is and, a conjunction. 

What kinds of jobs require handling, feeding and off bearing, or machine tending? Thanks for asking. We turn to the DOT Appendix B. The DOT defines the data, people, and things codes -- the middle three digits of the DOT number. The things code, the sixth digit, the last digit before the hyphen, is the one we are looking at. 

                5 Tending

                6 Feeding-Off Bearing

                7 Handling

If the things code is 0-4, the job does not require as its primary worker functions tending, feeding and off bearing, or handling. Those codes mean:

                0 Setting up

                1 Precision Working

                2 Operating-Controlling

                3 Driving-Operating

                4 Manipulating

Those thing codes do not match the examples of unskilled work define in § 404.1568(a). Those jobs do not require little or no judgment and are not simple even if they require 30 days or less of training (SVP 1 or 2). I did not write the regulation so don't blame me if this upsets your applecart. 

 Chapter 3 of the Revised Handbook for Analyzing Jobs (RHAJ) makes this point clear. Tending and feeding-off bearing are machine-related levels of worker function that require little or no latitude for judgment. Handling is a nonmachine-related level of worker function that requires little or no latitude for judgment. 

The RHAJ defines operating-controlling, driving-operating, and manipulating as having some latitude for judgment. Operating-controlling, driving-operating, and manipulating are not examples of work that require little or no judgment as unskilled work is described in § 404.1568(a). 

The DOT lists 334 codes with the things worker function as 2, 3, or 4. A fair question raised by the SSA regulation asks whether operating-controlling things, driving-operating things, or manipulating things requires simple duties involving little or no judgment despite meeting the and requirement of 30 days or less to learn the occupation's functions. Neither operating-controlling things, driving-operating things, nor manipulating things are examples of unskilled work in § 404.1568(a). SSA could have left the definition of unskilled work as SVP 1 or 2 but did not. SSA defined unskilled work by specifying judgment, learning period, and giving examples of worker functions that fit neatly within the structure of the DOT and RHAJ, the definition of all terms used in the DOT dataset. 

A venerable stalwart in Social Security litigation historically warned that new ideas are frequently wrong. Convincing the courts that the definition of unskilled does not include all occupations with an SVP 1 or 2 is a dangerous undertaking. This piece illustrates that the regulations do not define simple work requiring little or no judgment as the universe of unskilled work. Occupations that do not fit the tending, feeding-off bearing, handling can be considered unskilled but should not be considered simple, repetitive tasks involving little or no judgment. Reasoning level is not the only marker of conflict with an SRT limitation. 

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Suggested Citation:

Lawrence Rohlfing, Unskilled Work -- Not Defined in the DOT, California Social Security Attorney (October 1, 2024) https://californiasocialsecurityattorney.blogspot.com

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