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 

Advertising Distributor and Job Browser Pro -- Why is it Wrong?

 A vocational expert (VE) identifies advertising-material distributor (DOT 230.687-010) as a light, unskilled, simple 1-2 step occupation.  The VE says that the occupation represents about 30,000 jobs in the nation.  I think:  "That can't be right."  So I ask:  "How do you know that?"

The VE points to Job Browser Pro (JBP) as the basis for the testimony.  We are in the middle of the CV-19 crisis; the hearing is by telephone; I pull up JBP on the fly.  Damn, the VE is close, JBP says that advertising-material distributor represents 29,792 jobs in the nation.  Almost all of the jobs are in the employment services (NAICS 561300) industry.  Employment services is the industry group that contains temporary agencies.  "Don't temp agencies send people in all occupations?"  After some struggle back and forth, the VE affirms that that suspicion is true but that JBP is still a valid source for job numbers.  I now need to disassemble the occupation and its job numbers.  

JBP lists  advertising-material distributor and billposter (DOT 299.667-010) (medium unskilled) as helpers - production workers (SOC 51-9198) as existing in employment services.  Four digit industry designations represent industry groups that contain five and six-digit industries.  NAICS 561300 contains specific industries.  I need to find them and determine whether JBP has designated a specific industry and attributed all of those jobs to other DOT codes.  

JBP has a CBP hyperlink in the box describing the industries in which the DOT code exists.  CBP is the designation for County Business Patterns, #2 on the list of enumerated examples of administrative notice.  The CBP link takes me to the SkillTRAN Industry Analyzer.  I click on the Staffing Patterns button.   Clicking on the green "+" button for 51-9198, I find the DOT codes that SkillTran assigns to NAICS 561300.  Low and behold, there are not two but ten DOT codes:

SOC 51-9198 – Helpers – Production Worker
CODE	TITLE	INDUSTRY`	SVP	STR
230.667-014	TELEPHONE-DIRECTORY DELIVERER	business services	1	H
230.687-010	ADVERTISING-MATERIAL DISTRIBUTOR	any industry	2	L
299.667-010	BILLPOSTER	any industry	2	M
369.387-010	LAUNDRY WORKER III	any industry	3	L
529.687-094	GENERAL HELPER	oils & grease	2	M
609.684-014	LABORER, GENERAL	machine shop	2	H
619.687-014	MACHINE HELPER	any industry	3	H
741.687-014	PAINTER HELPER, SPRAY	any industry	3	M
922.687-058	LABORER, STORES	any industry	2	M
929.687-022	LABORER, SALVAGE	any industry	2	M

I change the 561310 to 561320.  This is the Temporary Help Services industry.  This has the green "+" button for 51-9198.  I click on it.  There is that same ten DOT code list that I saw for 561300.  Curiosity killed the cat so I meow and look at the specific five-digit industries.  I change the 561300 in the URL to 561310.  This is the industry designation for Employment Placement Agencies.  Sorting by SOC code, I see that SkillTRAN lists our two culprits, advertising-material distributor and billposter, but not the other eight.  

I change 561320 to 561330.  This is the Professional Employer Organizations industry.  This industry as a DOT list so I sort by SOC code.  The occupations from 51-9198 are advertising-material distributor and billposter.  

Back to JBP, I search randomly for store laborer (DOT 922.687-058).  JBP states that this occupation exists in industry 561320, that the industry employs 53,532 helpers - production worker, and that store laborer accounts for 6,691 of the jobs (which is almost all of the jobs attributed to store laborer by JBP).  JBP lists eight DOT codes:  the list of ten occupations less advertising-material distributor and billposter.  

I need to complete the circle.  Resorting to the OES May 2019 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates for NAICS 561300.  The OES confirms that "Industries within NAICS 561300 - Employment Services" includes 561320 - Temporary Help Services.

The OES reports that Helpers - Production Workers represents 78,690 jobs as of May 2019.  

The OES reports that Helpers - Production Workers represents 68,130 jobs as of May 2019.  

The difference is 10,560 jobs.  The OES does not report job numbers for NAICS 561310 or 561320.  CBP does but I have already completed the circle.  

JBP double counted the 53,532 jobs that it places in NAICS 561320 in accounting for them all again in NAICS 561300.  Including the part-time work, JBP estimates that NAICS 561320 has 84,971 jobs and NAICS 561300 has 94,492 jobs.  JBP is starting 16,000 jobs too high.  

The question is, how many  advertising-material distributor jobs are there?  JBP uses equal distribution as its methodology.  JBP does not list the extra eight occupations in NAICS 561310 or 561330 but lists all ten occupations in NAICS 561320.  Using JBP's intersectional equal distribution, half of the 10,560 jobs and one-tenth of the 68,130 jobs to arrive at 12,063 jobs, full and part-time for  advertising-material distributor.  

JBP says that 37% of the jobs are part-time.  The O*NET says that 6% of helpers - production workers have part-time employment.  The industry-specific full versus part-time is more applicable.  Advertising material distributor represents 7,600 full-time jobs that matter at step five of the sequential evaluation process.   

This is the danger of failing to fastidiously stick to either three, four, and five digit NAICS codes by JBP.  The data limitation exists because JBP relies on the OES and the OES only reports statistically significant occupation clusters.  When JBP reports job numbers, the careful user must travel up and down the NAICS code tree to determine whether the industry designation is accurate and that the jobs were not over or undercounted.  The mantra must remain, trust but verify.  When it comes to vocational experts, they do not get paid enough to take that journey.  We have a fiduciary obligation to take the trip.  Bon voyage.    

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Suggested Citation:

Lawrence Rohlfing, Advertising Distributor and Job Browser Pro -- Why is it Wrong?, California Social Security Attorney (October 1, 2020), https://californiasocialsecurityattorney.blogspot.com/2020/10/advertising-distributor-and-job-browser.html

OccuCollect Lift & Carry Report

The OccuCollect Lift & Carry Report sets out the DOT with its strength rating; the OOH statement of education, experience, training, and number of jobs; the O*NET statement of full-time versus part-time; and the ORS statements of SVP, and all the lifting/carrying statements.

Using the advertising-material distributor (DOT 230.687-010) as an example, we have a light occupation.  The work typically requires a high school diploma or equivalent, no related work experience, short-term training, and 354,600 jobs as of 2018 in the category of helpers -- production workers (SOC 51-9198).  The O*NET describes helpers as working part-time in 6% of jobs.

The ORS states that helpers engage in unskilled SVP 2 work in 68.3% of jobs.  Helpers engage in medium work in 49.2% of jobs.  At this point, the data gets interesting.  Helpers lift/carry greater than 20 pounds and less than 50 pounds seldom in 66.3% of jobs.  That is clearly a lift/carry requirement that exceeds light exertion.  The ORS states that helpers lift/carry 25 pounds at the 25th percentile and 15 pounds at the 10th percentile.  At least 75% of this category have work requirements that exceed the demands light exertion.

The only available inference to draw is that the 25.8% of jobs engage in heavy or very heavy work (75% minus 49.2%).  This is consistent with the maximum lift/carry 50 pounds at the 50th and 75th percentiles and 60 pounds at the 90th percentile.  The number of light and/or sedentary jobs that are classified as helpers is less than 25%.

The maximum number of light and sedentary jobs is 88,650.  The unskilled jobs cannot exceed 60,548 applying the O*NET part-time reduction.  That is the starting point for any further reduction for limitations on standing/walking, posturing, environmental conditions, or interaction with others.  Helpers contains 31 SVP 1 occupations and 126 SVP 2 light occupation.  That observation provides significant variability in the numbers for any particular occupation.

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SUGGESTED CITATION:

Lawrence Rohlfing, OccuCollect Lift & Carry Report, California Social Security Attorney (December 18, 2019),
https://californiasocialsecurityattorney.blogspot.com/2019/12/occucollect-lift-carry-report.html