Common Medium Unskilled DOT Codes -- Standing and Walking

 Medium work as defined in the DOT has no maximum percentage or amounts of standing and walking during an eight-hour day, other than the length of the workday.  The primary tool for examining the existence of medium work and the amount of standing and walking during the workday is the Occupational Requirements Survey.  Here are the data:

DOT Title	DOT Code	Industry	2020      OOH	OOH     JOBS	OEWS   JOBS	S/W ≤6	STR. MEDIUM
CLEANER, INDUSTRIAL	381.687-018	(any industry)	37-2011	2,217,000	1,990,510	0.0%	75%
KITCHEN HELPER	318.687-010	(hotel & rest.)	35-9021	408,500	396,660	0.0%	49%
LABORER, STORES	922.687-058	(any industry)	51-9198	238,000	239,340	0.0%	76%
MARKER	369.687-026	(laundry & rel.)	51-9061	557,900	549,200	50.0%	30%
PACKAGER, HAND	920.587-018	(any industry)	53-7064	599,700	599,270	0.0%	65%

The only group with possible medium work with standing and walking less than or equal to six hours is inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers (SOC 51-9061).  Half the jobs do not require sitting in excess of six hours but less than a third require medium exertion.  The data confirm the suspicion:

Strength Type	Value
Sedentary	10.4%
Light Work	48.6%
Medium Work	30%

The half of the jobs that do not require excess standing and walking, over 10% of those are sedentary.  Sedentary work requires standing and walking not more than occasionally during the workday.  That leaves almost 40% of the jobs with the number of light jobs exceeding in the aggregate the number of medium jobs.  

This calls into question the dependence of standing and walking on the strength require.  Since Labor does not provide the correlation between excess standing and walking, we ask the vocational expert to give an opinion.  Are medium jobs more likely to require standing and walking in excess of six hours a day as compared to light jobs in the same classification of inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers (SOC 51-9061)?  The burden rests on the agency to come forward with persuasive evidence that medium jobs exist.  If they do not exist, we use Table 2 of the Medical-Vocational Guidelines.  For a person over 55 with a relevant work history or more than a limited education, that makes a difference.  

Create the conflict.  Ask the witness to give statistical testimony.  When the witness cannot, the Commissioner cannot sustain her burden of proof.  

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Suggested Citation:

Lawrence Rohlfing, Common Medium Unskilled DOT Codes -- Standing and Walking, California Social Security Attorney (December 6, 2021)  https://californiasocialsecurityattorney.blogspot.com    

Definitions of Sedentary, Light, Medium, Heavy, and Very Heavy Work

Sometimes it is worth examining our presumptions about what terms and phrases of art mean.  We explore the issue of the exertional demands of the different ranges of work.  The Occupational Requirements Survey is a creature of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  The ORS is intended as the eventual replacement for the Dictionary of Occupational Titles.  Here is the ORS definitions of light through very heavy work.

Table 1. Determining strength level based on duration of lifting or carrying
Strength level	Duration of lifting or carrying
	Seldom	Occasionally	Frequently	Constantly
Light work	11-20 pounds	11-20 pounds	1-10 pounds	Negligible weight
Medium work	21-50 pounds	21-50 pounds	11-25 pounds	1-10 pounds
Heavy work	51-100 pounds	51-100 pounds	26-50 pounds	11-20 pounds
Very heavy work	>100 pounds	>100 pounds	>50 pounds	>20 pounds

The definition of sedentary is a residual category, a process of excluding other ranges of work. 

Table 2. Special cases for calculating strength level
Strength level	Description
Unknown	If it is unknown whether lifting or carrying occurs occasionally, frequently, or constantly or none of the conditions in the strength level chart are met and standing or walking or sitting are unknown.
Sedentary	If none of the conditions in the strength level chart are met and standing or walking occurs less than or equal to 1/3 of the work schedule.
Light work	If none of the conditions in the strength chart are met and does not meet the special conditions for unknown or sedentary.

The amount of standing/walking in a day is a factor only in differentiating between sedentary and light work.  The statement is SSR 83-10 that the primary difference between sedentary and light work is the amount of standing/walking conforms to Labor definitions.  The statements in SSR 83-10 that light and medium work involve standing/walking six hours in a workday was not correct in 1983, not correct in 1991, and not correct today.  Light work involves standing/walking from zero to eight hours per day. 

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SUGGESTED CITATION:

Lawrence Rohlfing, Definitions of Sedentary, Light, Medium, Heavy, and Very Heavy Work," California Social Security Attorney (January 22, 2020),
https://californiasocialsecurityattorney.blogspot.com/2020/01/definitions-of-sedentary-light-medium.html

Medium Exertion and Standing/Walking Six Hours in an Eight-Hour Day

That is the common state agency finding, common consultative examiner finding, and frequent ALJ assessment of residual functional capacity.  The claimant can stand/walk for six of eight hours during the workday.  The problem is simple:  standing/walking for six hours does not permit the full range of medium work or even most unskilled medium jobs.

We start with the Dictionary of Occupational Titles because the Commissioner treats the DOT as the holy grail of vocational resources.  The DOT says:

M-Medium Work - Exerting 20 to 50 pounds of force occasionally, and/or 10 to 25 pounds of force frequently, and/or greater than negligible up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects. Physical Demand requirements are in excess of those for Light Work.

Nothing about six hours of standing/walking in the DOT. 

Occu Collect has a free summary DOC/SCO report just for signing up.

The Commissioner cannot claim the privilege of construing the DOT but she does promulgate regulations:

Medium work. Medium work involves lifting no more than 50 pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of objects weighing up to 25 pounds. If someone can do medium work, we determine that he or she can also do sedentary and light work.

 Nothing about six hours of standing/walking in the regulations.  The Commissioner construes her own regulations.  SSR 83-10:

3. Medium work. The regulations define medium work as lifting no more than 50 pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of objects weighing up to 25 pounds. A full range of medium work requires standing or walking, off and on, for a total of approximately 6 hours in an 8-hour workday in order to meet the requirements of frequent lifting or carrying objects weighing up to 25 pounds. As in light work, sitting may occur intermittently during the remaining time.

 There it is.  Six hours in an eight-hour workday.  Pretty definitive except that is required just to perform the frequent lifting required of medium work.  The second phrase that is important is that "sitting may occur intermittently during the remaining time."

May is one of those words that strips all meaning out of everything that follows.  May in this context means that the person might sit in the remaining two hours.  But even if the worker does sit, the ruling does not imply that the person sits for the remaining two hours.  Instead, SSR 83-10 states that the worker might sit intermittently during the remaining time.  So might sit some of the remaining two hours of the workday.

If the person cannot perform more than six hours of standing/walking in an eight-hour day, that person cannot perform the full, wide, or any portion of medium work based solely on administrative notice.  The person must stand/walk for six hours and have the ability to stand/walk intermittently in the other two hours with scattered sitting in between.

We see this in current ALJ decisions.  The ALJ will find that the person can perform medium work as defined in the regulations.  But the medical evidence says six hours or about six hours.  Failure to reconcile the medical evidence to the fact finding is error.

Linda Ferra Agrees that Medium Work Requires More than Six Hours of Combined Standing and Walking

Linda Ferra is a vocational expert with a bulk provider agreement (BPA) with the Social Security Administration. 

The ALJ asks Ferra to assume a person of advanced age that can perform medium exertion.  Ferra identifies

laundry worker II, DOT 361.685-018 representing 40,000 jobs
laborer, stores, DOT 922.687-058 representing 50,000 jobs
industrial cleaner, DOT 381.687-018 representing 50,000 jobs

The medical evidence says six hours in an eight-hour day or about six hours in an eight-hour day.  That is the first step in cross-examination. 

If the person is limited to a combined six hours of standing and walking in an eight-hour day, can that person perform these three medium occupations?

 No.  

Ferra's testimony conforms to the DOT, the regulatory definition of medium work, the O*NET OnLine, and the Occupational Requirements Survey.  The fly in the ointment is SSR 83-10.  The ruling is inconsistent with the regulation, inconsistent with the document produced by the Department of Labor, subject to rebuttal, and is wrong.  Start with Appendix C of the DOT:

Medium Work - Exerting 20 to 50 pounds of force occasionally, or 10 to 25 pounds of force frequently, or greater than negligible up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects. Physical demand requirements are in excess of those for Light Work.

Not a word in the definition of medium work that even implies a six hour standing/walking upper limit for any medium occupation.  The regulation:

Medium work involves lifting no more than 50 pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of objects weighing up to 25 pounds. If someone can do medium work, we determine that he or she can also do sedentary and light work.

Nothing here to imply much less require a six hour upper limit of standing/walking for any medium occupation.  I ran a sit-stand-walk report from Occu Collect that puts the data for the occupation in one report.  Extracting from that report, I find:

51-6011.00 - Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers

Exertional	%	Response
Spend Time Sitting — How much does this job require sitting?	0	Continually or almost continually
	9	More than half the time
	0	About half the time
	12	Less than half the time
	79	Never
	%
Spend Time Standing — How much does this job require standing?	80	Continually or almost continually
	11	More than half the time
	0	About half the time
	9	Less than half the time
	0	Never
	%
Spend Time Walking and Running — How much does this job require walking and running?	35	Continually or almost continually
	28	More than half the time
	11	About half the time
	21	Less than half the time
	5	Never

Never is pretty clear -- it means never.  Less than half the time for sitting ranges from seldom to the occasional range.  More than half the time straddles the upper end of the frequent range to the lower half of the constant range.  

51-6011.00 - Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers

Series ID: ORUP1000096000001004

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: laundry and dry-cleaning workers; % of day standing/walking is required (10th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: laundry and dry-cleaning workers

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (10th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	81.3

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000096000001004

Series ID: ORUP1000096000001005

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: laundry and dry-cleaning workers; % of day standing/walking is required (25th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: laundry and dry-cleaning workers

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (25th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	87.5

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000096000001005

Series ID: ORUP1000096000001006

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: laundry and dry-cleaning workers; % of day standing/walking is required (50th percentile - median)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: laundry and dry-cleaning workers

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (50th percentile - median)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	100

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000096000001006

Series ID: ORUP1000096000001007

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: laundry and dry-cleaning workers; % of day standing/walking is required (75th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: laundry and dry-cleaning workers

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (75th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	100

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000096000001007

Series ID: ORUP1000096000001008

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: laundry and dry-cleaning workers; % of day standing/walking is required (90th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: laundry and dry-cleaning workers

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (90th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	100

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000096000001008

Standing/walking 81.3% of the day for laundry workers 

Store Laborers is part of helpers-production workers (SOC 51-9198).  The Department of Labor says:

51-9198.00 - Helpers--Production Workers

Exertional	%	Response
Spend Time Sitting — How much does this job require sitting?	8	Continually or almost continually
	8	More than half the time
	11	About half the time
	24	Less than half the time
	49	Never
	%
Spend Time Standing — How much does this job require standing?	49	Continually or almost continually
	9	More than half the time
	18	About half the time
	19	Less than half the time
	6	Never
	%
Spend Time Walking and Running — How much does this job require walking and running?	19	Continually or almost continually
	27	More than half the time
	21	About half the time
	17	Less than half the time
	15	Never

This is a very broad range of work that contains sedentary and light work.  It takes the vocational expert to place the occupation in the 49% that never sit.  

51-9198.00 - Helpers--Production Workers

Series ID: ORUP1000030A00001004

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: helpers--production workers; % of day standing/walking is required (10th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: helpers--production workers

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (10th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	75

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000030A00001004

Series ID: ORUP1000030A00001005

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: helpers--production workers; % of day standing/walking is required (25th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: helpers--production workers

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (25th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	83.3

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000030A00001005

Series ID: ORUP1000030A00001006

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: helpers--production workers; % of day standing/walking is required (50th percentile - median)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: helpers--production workers

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (50th percentile - median)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	95

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000030A00001006

Series ID: ORUP1000030A00001007

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: helpers--production workers; % of day standing/walking is required (75th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: helpers--production workers

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (75th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	100

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000030A00001007

Series ID: ORUP1000030A00001008

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: helpers--production workers; % of day standing/walking is required (90th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: helpers--production workers

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (90th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	100

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000030A00001008

The ORS suggests that the sedentary occupations do not exist and that somewhere between the 10th and 25th percentiles, all the occupations require standing/walking more than six hours in an eight-hour day.  

The ALJ is resisting Ferra's testimony so we need to lock down that industrial cleaner occupation.  

37-2011.00 - Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners

Exertional	%	Response
Spend Time Sitting — How much does this job require sitting?	0	Continually or almost continually
	0	More than half the time
	0	About half the time
	39	Less than half the time
	61	Never
	%
Spend Time Standing — How much does this job require standing?	82	Continually or almost continually
	17	More than half the time
	0	About half the time
	0	Less than half the time
	0	Never
	%
Spend Time Walking and Running — How much does this job require walking and running?	43	Continually or almost continually
	31	More than half the time
	10	About half the time
	16	Less than half the time
	0	Never

At most 17% of janitors and cleaners might fall in that six hours out of eight range but more than half the time is not the range of frequent, it is the upper part of frequent and into the bottom portion of constant.  

37-2011.00 - Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners

Series ID: ORUP1000062200001004

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners; % of day standing/walking is required (10th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (10th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	85

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000062200001004

Series ID: ORUP1000062200001005

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners; % of day standing/walking is required (25th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (25th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	90

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000062200001005

Series ID: ORUP1000062200001006

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners; % of day standing/walking is required (50th percentile - median)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (50th percentile - median)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	100

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000062200001006

Series ID: ORUP1000062200001007

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners; % of day standing/walking is required (75th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (75th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	100

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000062200001007

Series ID: ORUP1000062200001008

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners; % of day standing/walking is required (90th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners

Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (90th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	100

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000062200001008

The ORS nails the question down.  At the 10th percentile, employers expect janitors and cleaners to be on their feet 85% of the day.  

Looking back at SSR 83-10:

The regulations define medium work as lifting no more than 50 pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of objects weighing up to 25 pounds. A full range of medium work requires standing or walking, off and on, for a total of approximately 6 hours in an 8-hour workday in order to meet the requirements of frequent lifting or carrying objects weighing up to 25 pounds. As in light work, sitting may occur intermittently during the remaining time. Use of the arms and hands is necessary to grasp, hold, and turn objects, as opposed to the finer activities in much sedentary work, which require precision use of the fingers as well as use of the hands and arms.

The phrase "approximately 6 hours in an 8-hour workday" is inconsistent with the DOT and the regulation.  That phrase is inconsistent with data collected from work incumbents (O*NET OnLine) and with employer requirements (ORS).  SSR 83-10 needs to be rescinded and re-issued with definitions that fit Labor's observations, measurements, and the reality of work.