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.

General Office Clerks -- DOT List with Skill, Exertion, and Reasoning

The Dictionary of Occupational Titles lists the occupations that Labor now puts in the category of general office clerks.  The list illustrates that a limitation to simple, repetitive tasks will eliminate the vast majority of the jobs.

DOT Code	DOT Title	STRENGTH	SVP	GED R
162.167-026	PRIZE COORDINATOR	L	5	4
199.267-018	EXAMINATION PROCTOR	L	5	4
205.367-010	ADMISSIONS EVALUATOR	S	6	4
205.367-030	ELECTION CLERK	S	2	3
209.362-010	CIRCULATION CLERK	S	3	3
209.362-014	CONTROL CLERK, AUDITING	S	3	3
209.362-022	IDENTIFICATION CLERK	L	4	3
209.362-030	CONGRESSIONAL-DISTRICT AIDE	S	5	4
209.367-010	AGENT-LICENSING CLERK	S	5	4
209.367-026	FINGERPRINT CLERK I	L	2	3
209.367-034	LOST-CHARGE-CARD CLERK	S	3	3
209.367-038	NEWS ASSISTANT	L	3	4
209.367-050	TRIP FOLLOWER	L	3	3
209.367-054	YARD CLERK	S	3	3
209.382-022	TRAFFIC CLERK	L	4	3
209.387-022	DATA-EXAMINATION CLERK	S	3	3
209.562-010	CLERK, GENERAL	L	3	3
209.587-014	CREDIT-CARD CLERK	S	3	3
209.587-022	HISTORY-CARD CLERK	S	4	3
209.587-030	MAP CLERK	S	3	3
209.587-050	WRONG-ADDRESS CLERK	L	3	2
209.667-014	ORDER CALLER	L	2	2
209.667-018	CODE AND TEST CLERK	S	5	4
209.687-022	SORTER	S	3	2
217.382-010	PROOF-MACHINE OPERATOR	S	4	3
219.362-010	ADMINISTRATIVE CLERK	L	4	4
219.362-014	ATTENDANCE CLERK	S	6	4
219.362-022	CLERK, TELEGRAPH SERVICE	S	5	4
219.362-026	CONTRACT CLERK, AUTOMOBILE	S	5	4
219.362-046	REAL-ESTATE CLERK	S	5	4
219.367-038	UNDERWRITING CLERK	L	4	3
219.387-014	INSURANCE CLERK	S	4	4
219.462-014	TRAIN CLERK	S	3	3
219.467-010	GRADING CLERK	S	3	4
219.482-018	REINSURANCE CLERK	S	5	4
221.387-038	LAUNDRY CLERK	L	3	3
221.387-042	MELTER CLERK	L	4	3
222.367-030	FLOOR-SPACE ALLOCATOR	L	3	3
222.367-034	LOST-AND-FOUND CLERK	L	3	3
222.367-054	PROPERTY CLERK	L	5	3
222.387-046	RETURNED-TELEPHONE-EQUIPMENT APPRAISER	L	5	3
222.587-026	LABORATORY CLERK	L	3	3
222.587-038	ROUTER	L	2	2
222.687-034	STUBBER	M	2	2
229.587-010	GREIGE-GOODS MARKER	L	2	2
235.387-010	RADIO-MESSAGE ROUTER	S	5	3
241.367-030	THROW-OUT CLERK	S	4	3
241.367-042	PROPERTY-ASSESSMENT MONITOR	L	3	4
243.362-014	POLICE AIDE	S	3	3
245.362-014	UNIT CLERK	L	3	3
245.362-018	Animal-Hospital Clerk	(blank)	(blank)	(blank)
245.367-010	Animal-Hospital Clerk	S	4	3
245.367-014	BLOOD-DONOR-UNIT ASSISTANT	L	2	2
245.367-018	CALENDAR-CONTROL CLERK, BLOOD BANK	S	3	3
245.367-022	CREDIT CLERK, BLOOD BANK	S	3	3
245.587-010	DIET CLERK	S	3	3
247.382-010	MEDIA CLERK	S	5	4
248.362-014	WEATHER CLERK	L	3	3
249.267-010	COPYRIGHT EXPERT	S	7	4
249.367-010	ANIMAL-SHELTER CLERK	S	3	3
249.367-014	CAREER-GUIDANCE TECHNICIAN	L	6	4
249.367-018	CHARTER	S	3	3
249.367-026	CREDIT CARD CONTROL CLERK	S	3	3
249.367-062	PROCESS SERVER	L	3	3
249.367-078	TEST TECHNICIAN	L	4	3
249.387-010	BROADCAST CHECKER	S	4	3
249.387-022	READER	S	4	3
249.587-010	BOARD ATTENDANT	L	2	3
249.587-014	CUTTER-AND-PASTER, PRESS CLIPPINGS	S	2	2
249.587-018	DOCUMENT PREPARER, MICROFILMING	S	2	3
294.667-010	AUCTION ASSISTANT	L	2	2
375.362-010	POLICE CLERK	S	6	4
910.367-014	CAR DISTRIBUTOR	S	5	4
962.167-018	PROPERTY COORDINATOR	V	7	4

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