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.

                        

Vocational Expert Handbook Video Presentation -- Sedentary Work ID'd -- Sitting, Reasoning, and Job Browser Pro

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.  

ALJ: Assume a hypothetical individual with the claimant's age, education, and past work experience is able to perform light work as defined in the regulations, except they can occasionally climb ramps and stairs, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, and crawl; and can never climb ladders, ropes, or scaffolds; must avoid unprotected heights, moving mechanical parts, and operating a motor vehicle; 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?

...

Now, assume the same limitations I stated in the first hypothetical except the individual is limited to sedentary work as defined in the regulations. Can that person perform any work?

VW: Yes, jobs such as 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. 

There are some differences in how the document preparer and addresser jobs are performed and currently as compared to the description and requirements in the DOT due to the availability of more modern technology now. For example, the description for document preparer says a person prepares documents, such as brochures, pamphlets, and catalogs, for microfilming, using a paper cutter, photocopying machine, rubber stamps, and other work devices. Microfilming technology has changed over time and now scanners are used to copy and help prepare documents for indexing and storage.

The rationale is the same for cutter and paster position, which is described in the DOT as tearing or cutting out marked articles or advertisements from newspapers and magazines, using a knife or scissors, and recording the name of the publication, page, location, date, and name of the customer on the label, and affixing the label to a clipping. More modern tools are used to perform this job, but the position is the same and it requires essentially the same functional abilities.

As for the addresser job, one of the tasks in the description in the DOT states "addresses by hand or by typewriter, envelopes, cares, advertising literature, and packages, and similar items for mailing." Now, envelopes, cards, advertising literature, packages and similar items for mailing are still sent, but the job may be performed by placing pre-printed labels on these items instead of doing them by hand or by typewriter, but they can still be performed by hand too.

Overall, more modern tools are used to perform these jobs, but the positional and functional requirements are effectively the same as explained in the DOT. My testimony is based on my experience and knowledge in the job market, including over 30 years of placing individuals into jobs and observing how the performance of these jobs has changed over time as well as vocational and rehabilitation counseling.

Under the guise of SSR 83-10, the agency and the vocational experts assume that a limitation to sedentary work includes a limitation to sitting six hours in an eight-hour workday. The first question is whether that assumption is true. The ruling states: 

Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required occasionally and other sedentary criteria are met. By its very nature, work performed primarily in a seated position entails no significant stooping.

Sedentary jobs are primarily seated and standing/walking are required occasionally. The ruling defines occasionally:

"Occasionally" means occurring from very little up to one-third of the time. 

Very little is less than two hours and one-third of the time is more than two hours. Standing/walking 

should generally total no more than about 2 hours of in 8-hour workday, and sitting should generally total approximately 6 hours of an 8-hour workday. Work processes in specific jobs will dictate how often and how long a person will need to be on his or her feet to obtain or return small articles.

1. Sedentary work does not have a rigid and fixed 6-2 split of sitting versus standing/walking. The no more than two hours and approximately six hours with the deciding factor contained in the processes of the specific jobs forms the exceptions that swallow the rule. That and of course facts. Do these jobs ever require as an essential job function or a bona fide occupational qualification the need to sit for more than two hours in an eight-hour day? Ask that question somewhere in the cross-examination. 

2. Reasoning level rests at the heart of work complexity. The Vocational Expert Handbook describes reasoning ability as part of the education component of the vocational profile. Pages 29-30. The Vocational Expert Handbook states clearly that simple or repetitive tasks have an apparent conflict with reasoning level 3 and directs the VW to "be prepared to explain how the hypothetical individual could perform this job." Pages 39-40. Document preparer requires reasoning level 3. The witness did not explain the apparent conflict. This issue does not require cross-examination. The issue must be argued at the close of the case. 

3. Job Browser Pro is the ubiquitous source for job numbers. The VW says

Document preparer: 30,000 jobs nationally.

Addresser: 25,000 jobs nationally.

Cutter-and-paster: 10,000 jobs nationally. 

JBP (ver. 1.7.4.1) says:

Document preparer: 15,670 jobs nationally in 2023.

Addresser: 2,068 jobs nationally.

Cutter-and-paster: 702 jobs nationally. 

This evidence must be presented to the ALJ before the decision is made. Some ALJs will not permit post-hearing evidence. They are wrong but put the evidence into the record during the hearing. 

In the next post on this subject, we will deal with the methodology problem including how the testimony plays into the JBP methodology. 

Stay tuned. 

___________________________

Suggested Citation:

Lawrence Rohlfing, Vocational Expert Handbook Video Presentation -- Sedentary Work ID'd -- Sitting, Reasoning, and Job Browser Pro, California Social Security Attorney (September 3, 2023) https://californiasocialsecurityattorney.blogspot.com

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

Common DOT Codes -- Sedentary Unskilled -- Cutter-and-Paster, Press Clippings; Document Preparer, Microfilming

Sedentary work that does not exceed six hours of sitting in an eight-hour day represents a small window.  The DOT and the regulations define sedentary work as involving standing or walking not more than occasionally, 2.3 hours.  Sedentary work as depicted by a residual functional capacity question with a lower limit of 5.7 hours an upper limit of 6.0 hours constitutes a slender reed.  

 Understanding sedentary work rests on the difference between and and or.  Light work exists (1) when it requires walking or standing to a significant degree; OR (2) when it requires sitting most of the time but entails pushing and/or pulling of arm or leg controls; AND/OR (3) when the job requires working at a production rate pace entailing the constant pushing and/or pulling of materials even though the weight of those materials is negligible.  

Sedentary work exists when the work (1) when it does not require walking or standing to a significant degree; AND (2) when it requires sitting most of the time and does not involve pushing and/or pulling of arm or leg controls; AND (3) when the job requires working at a production rate pace but does not entail the constant pushing and/or pulling of materials even though the weight of those materials is negligible.  Transgressing the standing/walking, lifting/carrying, pushing/pulling with the arms or legs, or production rate pace strips away any hope for that sedentary label.  

The cadre of vocational experts rely on 16 different DOT codes in the sedentary range.  Ignoring obsolescence and industry, the question is whether the occupations are unskilled, sedentary, and do not exceed 6.0 hours of sitting in a full-time workday.  

6. Cutter-and-Paster, Press Clippings

7. Document Preparer, Microfilming

Cutter-and-paster, press clippings and document preparer, microfilming belong to the same occupational group, Office Clerks, General (SOC 43-9061).  General office clerks represent about 2.9 million jobs in the national economy.  General office clerks contains 74 DOT codes, 11 of which are unskilled.  We have long railed against and rejected the use of equal distribution.  The skill level required is the first challenge.  

The O*NET Resource Center describes the three component of SVP: on-the-job training, related work experience, and required level of education separately.  

On-the-Job Training
Duration	Value
None or short demonstration	4.85%
Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month	27.91%

Related Work Experience
Duration	Value
None	7.72%
Up to and including 1 month	1.14%

Required Level of Education
Education Level	Value
Less than a High School Diploma	1.5%
High School Diploma or the equivalent	40.59%

If OTJ were the end all and be all of SVP, we would think that 32% of general office clerks are unskilled.  But work experience counts.  Related work experience of one month or less applies in 9% of jobs.  Using the O*NET Resource Center, incumbent data suggests that 9% of the jobs are unskilled.  

The Occupational Requirements Survey rolls the data into a composite.  

SVP Calculations
SVP	Value	Jobs	Calculation
SVP 1	2.7%	2,933,900	79,215
SVP 2	28.4%	2,933,900	833,228

The ORS data corresponds with the OTJ information from the O*NET Resource Center, about 31% of the jobs represent unskilled work.  The O*NET Resource Center reports that the information for general office clerks comes form incumbent surveys.  The OccuCollect calculator uses the Occupational Outlook Handbook numbers, about 900,000 unskilled general office clerk jobs at all exertion levels.  

The next step in estimating the number of unskilled sedentary general office clerk jobs is to tease that conclusion from the data.  We start again with the O*NET OnLine:

Exertional	%	Response
Spend Time Sitting — How much does this job require sitting?	60	Continually or almost continually
	25	More than half the time
	7	About half the time
	8	Less than half the time

Spend Time Standing — How much does this job require standing?	1	Continually or almost continually
	7	More than half the time
	12	About half the time
	72	Less than half the time
	9	Never

Spend Time Walking and Running — How much does this job require walking and running?	4	Continually or almost continually
	14	More than half the time
	14	About half the time
	32	Less than half the time
	36	Never

Because the definition of sedentary includes a standing/walking duration element, we can confidently state that the O*NET permits the inference that at least 60% of the jobs require sedentary exertion.  We compare that incumbent-based conclusion to the employer-based data from the ORS.  BLS reports exertion categories for some occupations and provides that data here:

Strength Calculations
Strength Type	Value	Jobs	Calculation
Sedentary	79.4%	2,933,900	2,329,517
Light Work	17.1%	2,933,900	501,697
Medium Work	3.1%	2,933,900	90,951

Using the ORS classification, the number of unskilled sedentary jobs is around 720,000.  

We must also exclude part-time work from the calculation.  The O*NET provides that answer:

Duration of Typical Work Week Calculations
Hours	Value	Jobs	Calculation
Less Than 40 Hours	25.6%	2,933,900	751,078
40 Hours	59.1%	2,933,900	1,733,935
More Than 40 Hours	15.1%	2,933,900	443,019

A quarter of the jobs do not qualify at step five of the sequential evaluation process, the existence of other work.  The results in the estimate of 540,000 full-time unskilled sedentary jobs as a general office clerk.  

We now turn to sitting less than or equal to six hours in an eight-hour day.  The O*NET does not provide the granular data to make that assessment.  We use the ORS.  

Sitting is Required Calculations
% Of Day	Percentile	Jobs	Calculation
<= 86.3%	Mean	2,933,900	Not Applicable
<= 70%	10th	2,933,900	293,390
<= 80%	25th	2,933,900	733,475
<= 90%	50th	2,933,900	1,466,950
<= 95%	75th	2,933,900	2,200,425
<= 100%	90th	2,933,900	2,640,510

The 10th percentile would violate a two-hour limit on standing and walking even though it does not violate the definition of sedentary work (up to a third of the workday, 33.3%).  The 25th percentile requires more sitting than a six-hour limit would permit (75% of an eight-hour day).  None of the jobs would permit a strict six hours sitting, two hours standing work environment.  We must examine worker choice.  

Sitting/Standing Calculations
Sitting/Standing At Will	Value	Jobs	Calculation
choice of sitting or standing is allowed	91.1%	2,933,900	2,672,783
choice of sitting or standing is not allowed	8.9%	2,933,900	261,117

The ORS does report a choice of sitting or standing is allowed in 91.1% of jobs.  The 2020 Collections Manual describes the choice:

This element captures jobs that have the ability to choose or control how and when they respond to external factors. When collecting for this element, consult the job’s documented task list to determine whether any of the critical tasks assigned would prevent the ability to sit/stand at will. 

The ORS instructs:

The ability to alternate between Sitting/Standing at Will is present when the following conditions exist:
• Workers typically have the flexibility to choose between sitting and standing throughout the day and
• There is no assigned time during the day to sit or stand and
• No external factors determine whether an employee must sit or stand.

Through the 75th percentile, general office clerks stand/walk some of the day.  A worker that has flexibility to choose when to engage in the activities has a "choice of sitting or standing" during the workday.  The presence of choice or at will sitting/standing in the ORS data does not mean that the person can assume any posture they choose.  The presence of choice or at will sitting/standing allow the worker to divide up the day as they choose but does not alter the amount of sitting or standing required to perform the job.  

The ORS also codes sitting where:

Workers may choose between sitting and standing for a given task. For example, office workers can choose a standing desk.

A standing desk may represent an accommodation and therefore irrelevant for Social Security purposes.  SSR 00-1c.  The ORS instructs employers to assess the performance of critical tasks without accommodation, how most workers perform the job.  The example of a standing desk would apply if workers typically have a standing desk at the workstation without asking for one.  

The ORS excludes "incidental tasks" from the assessment of work requirements.  The fourth example provided by the ORS to code choice or at will describes an office clerk that can choose when to file and typically stands while filing invoices.  The ORS instructs employers to code that occupation as "At Will is Yes" because the organization of the worker's day is "Worker's Choice."  

How many cutter-and-paster, press clippings and document preparer, microfilming jobs exist where standing/walking does not exceed two hours and sitting does not exceed six hours?  None.  

This is a logical conclusion.  Most work environments outside of production work require flexibility.  While a worker might have to stand/walk for two hours on day one, that fact does not suggest that the worker stands/walks two hours a day, every day.  A data set of one is meaningless.  It could represent the statistical average, median, or the data point three standard deviations from the mean.  The data published by Labor in general and BLS in particular is incompatible with general office clerks standing/walking exactly two hours and sitting exactly six hours every day of every week, month after month.  

___________________________

Suggested Citation:

Lawrence Rohlfing, Common DOT Codes -- Sedentary Unskilled -- Cutter-and-Paster, Press Clippings; Document Preparer, Microfilming, California Social Security Attorney (December 20, 2021)  https://californiasocialsecurityattorney.blogspot.com   

 

A Limitation Precluding Exposure to Bright Lights -- What Does that Even Mean?

The case is McMahon v. Saul. The Ninth Circuit affirms the finding that McMahon could perform three occupations: document preparer, call-out operator, and final assembler. Experience tells us that this is a sedentary occupational base. We review the District Court decision to get the particulars. The District Court decision (titled Steven M. v. Andrew M. Saul but the representation line states his full name and that of his counsel) confirms that this case is about a younger individual with a high school education and no relevant work experience. The recitation of residual functional capacity

The ALJ found Plaintiff capable of performing a range of sedentary work, with the following exertional limitations: he can never climb ladders, ropes, or scaffolds. He can occasionally climb ramps or stairs, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, and crawl. He can occasionally operate foot controls bilaterally. He can have occasional exposure to vibration, loud noise, bright lights, and extreme cold temperatures. He must use a cane when ambulating.

Two concerns arise from this residual functional capacity assessment.  First, the ALJ did not find any sitting limitation.  Many sedentary jobs do not have a work environment or list of duties that permit the accumulation of two hours of standing/walking during the workday – everyday.  When the agency fails to include a sitting, standing, or walking limitation, that omission violates the function-by-function assessment of Social Security Ruling 96-8p as the interpretation of the residual functional capacity assessment regulation. 

The second problem, and the focus of this post, is occasional exposure to bright lights.  What does bright lights mean?  If you know what that phrase means, then tell me that the ALJ and the vocational expert share your insight into the language.  The most common definition of bright lights from the web describe the lighting of a city at night, not very bright. 

The O*NET OnLine has a category for extremely bright or inadequate lighting.  General office clerks have exposure to extremely bright or inadequate lighting everyday in 5% of jobs.  That is the exposure to extremely bright lighting, not bright lighting. 

OSHA defines the minimum lighting required in different work settings. 

    TABLE D-3 - MINIMUM ILLUMINATION INTENSITIES IN FOOT-CANDLES

 

____________________________________________________________________

              |

 Foot-Candles |            Area of Operation

______________|_____________________________________________________

              |

5.............|  General construction area lighting.

3.............|  General construction areas, concrete placement,

              |   excavation and waste areas, access ways, active

              |   storage areas, loading platforms, refueling, and

              |   field maintenance areas.

5.............|  Indoors: warehouses, corridors, hallways, and

              |   exitways.

5.............|  Tunnels, shafts, and general underground work areas:

              |   (Exception: minimum of 10 foot-candles is required

              |   at tunnel and shaft heading during drilling,

              |   mucking, and scaling. Bureau of Mines approved cap

              |   lights shall be acceptable for use in the tunnel

              |   heading)

10............|  General construction plant and shops (e.g., batch

              |   plants, screening plants, mechanical and

              |   electrical equipment rooms, carpenter shops,

              |   rigging lofts and active store rooms, mess halls,

              |   and indoor toilets and workrooms.)

30............|  First aid stations, infirmaries, and offices.

______________|____________________________________________________

 

We glean from this data that the brightest lighting occurs in three environments:  first aid stations, infirmaries, and offices.  If McMahon cannot tolerate bright lighting, then he cannot tolerate the workspaces that have the most intense lighting. 

We measure lighting in foot-candles as OSHA has done or in lux.  I found this chart:

Light Levels
Outdoor	FC	LUX
Direct Sunlight	10,000	100,000
Full Daylight	1,000	10,000
Overcast Day	100	1,000
Dusk	10	100
Twilight	1	10
Deep Twilight	0.1	1
Full Moon	0.01	0.1
Quarter Moon	0.001	0.01
Moonless Night	0.0001	0.001
Overcast Night	0.00001	0.0001

  

Staring at the sun will cause blindness.  Walking in the snow or ice with no eye protection getting full daylight and reflected sunlight will cause snow blindness. The need for eye protection in full daylight is not a workplace limitation.  That would represent a limitation to occasional work outdoors.  The limitation against bright lighting is something less than occasional work outdoors. 

Occasional bright lights constitutes a vague limitation.  Vagueness forms the proper basis for the objection to a question.  If the phrase is not defined linguistically, then the phrase warrants a definition technologically. 

Q.  When the judge asked you to assume occasional exposure to bright lights, what did you understand that phrase to mean?

Q.  When you study a work environment, do you ever measure lighting?

Q.  How do you measure lighting?

Q.  Does OSHA prescribe lighting standards for the workplace?

Q.  In what work environments does OSHA require the most lighting?

Q.  If we consider the highest level of lighting required, like in a first aid station, to represent bright lighting, could the person described in the question perform the three occupations that you identified?

Q.  Why would you ever answer a question that anyone poses where you do not understand the question asked?

Document preparer works in an office setting using a paper cutter, razor knife, and uses a photocopy machine.  Document preparer and bright lights are conjoined.  Call-out operator and final assembler warrant full-throated contradiction on the number jobs.  They do not exist. 

While we push the agency on the residual functional capacity question through the medical evidence that the testimonial evidence, we must continue the assault through step five on the existence of other work. 

Remember in law school, an injury claim from a defective product required a contract analysis, a negligence analysis, and a product liability analysis?  Same process here.  We use all the tools on the belt.  We don’t throw some of them away just because math is hard. 

___________________________

Suggested Citation:

Lawrence Rohlfing, A Limitation Precluding Exposure to Bright Lights -- What Does that Even Mean?, California Social Security Attorney (April 20, 2021)  https://californiasocialsecurityattorney.blogspot.com/2021/04/a-limitation-precluding-exposure-to.html