Since Hearings are Conducted in English, I Suggest that We Define Our Terms with a Dictionary -- TEAMWORK

In a recent disability hearing, the ALJ directed the vocational witness to assume "no teamwork." I really get excited when I hear this limitation because it means that the person cannot work, I will win this case. I start with John Donne's For Whom the Bell Tolls:

No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.

First line, there it is, no man is an island. We are all interconnected in life, death, and especially in work. SSA knows this. POMS DI 25020.010.B.3 describes worker functions critical to performing unskilled work:

             3. 

Mental Abilities Critical For Performing Unskilled Work

g.  work in coordination with or proximity to others without being (unduly) distracted by them.

 The Department of Labor confirms the concept in the Occupational Requirements Survey. 

Series ID: ORUC1000000000001186

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: Percent of civilian workers; with basic people skills

Requirement: Cognitive And Mental Requirements

Occupation: All workers

Estimate: with basic people skills

Year	Period	Estimate
2022	Annual	38.8

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUC1000000000001186

Only 38.8% of jobs require basic people skills? That means that basic people skills are not required in 61.2% of jobs! That's right Bucko, those jobs require "more than basic people skills." 

Series ID: ORUC1000000000001187

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: Percent of civilian workers; with more than basic people skills

Requirement: Cognitive And Mental Requirements

Occupation: All workers

Estimate: with more than basic people skills

Year	Period	Estimate
2022	Annual	61.2

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUC1000000000001187

That is why I get excited when I hear "no teamwork." The person is unemployable. The child that comes home with a report card that plays well with others occasionally but does not play well with others 67% of the day or more has serious problems at school and has a very hard life ahead. No person is an island. We are all interconnected. For the lay person out there, lawyers are morbid people -- the worse the problem the more animated we become.

So the vocational witness testifies that a person limited to no teamwork can perform a couple hundred thousand jobs. I ask how the witness understands "teamwork." I get a bucket of drivel that defines teamwork to the point where people are in each other's pockets constantly during the day. I ask the witness to assume that teamwork means:

: work done by a group acting together so that each member does a part that contributes to the efficiency of the whole

I inform the witness and the ALJ that the definition comes from Merriam-Webster online dictionary.  

Well, if you want to define the term that way, then there are no jobs.

Let's be really clear on this point, that is no my definition of teamwork, it is the culturally and linguistically accepted meaning of the work as reported by the dictionary. This is not Humpty Dumpty:

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.”

Witnesses do not get to use their own private definitions of words. Words have meaning and if we do not agree on the meaning of words, we cease to have the ability to communicate. The loss of communication for a social species means that we cease in the ability to be social. I read it in a book one time, maybe more, perhaps you have seen it too:

It is not good for the man to be alone. 

The administrative process is hard enough but when the administrative process signals a breakdown in culture, when the witnesses torture themselves to get to an outcome that is simple unsustainable, when words cease to mean what we have agreed as a culture that they mean, then we are all in serious trouble.


Talk me off the ledge.


___________________________

Suggested Citation:

Lawrence Rohlfing, Since Hearings are Conducted in English, I Suggest that We Define Our Terms with a Dictionary -- TEAMWORK, California Social Security Attorney (August 4, 2023) https://californiasocialsecurityattorney.blogspot.com

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

No Teamwork -- A Look at Helpers - Production Workers

The claimant has a limitation to no teamwork.  The vocational expert rolls out the standard list of unskilled jobs.  Simple question:

Q.  Does the Department of Labor publish data that confirms your testimony.

Turns out that DOL does.  In the occupational group of Helpers - Production Workers, we find 12 of the unskilled sedentary occupations; 157 of the light unskilled occupations; and 172 of the medium unskilled occupations.  There are 111 heavy and very heavy unskilled occupations as well.  This is a big occupational base and balance of the 782 occupations in this huge group requires some level of skill.  

Now that we established the importance of this occupational group in the 2,400 unskilled sedentary to medium occupations, we can focus on the incumbent perception of the incidence and importance of working with a team in 341 sedentary, light, and medium unskilled occupations.  Here is what the O*NET says about this group (from OccuCollect):  

Interpersonal Relationships	%	Response
Work With Work Group or Team — How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?	28	Extremely important
	50	Very important
	12	Important
	2	Fairly important
	8	Not important at all

The O*NET suggests that Helpers - Production Workers work with a team and that it is at least fairly important in 92% of jobs.  If the hypothetical question includes no teamwork or includes an occasional contact with co-workers and supervisors, the O*NET provides a basis for cross-examination.  

Q.  Is your experience less than, equal to, or greater than the survey of incumbents conducted in the collection of O*NET data?

We should check some of the other interpersonal relationship data for this occupational group:

Interpersonal Relationships	%	Response
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?	39	Constant contact with others
	24	Contact with others most of the time
	20	Contact with others about half the time
	17	Occasional contact with others
	0	No contact with others

Coordinate or Lead Others — How important is it to coordinate or lead others in accomplishing work activities in this job?	17	Extremely important
	16	Very important
	39	Important
	8	Fairly important
	21	Not important at all

Deal With External Customers — How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job?	4	Extremely important
	15	Very important
	13	Important
	11	Fairly important
	57	Not important at all

Responsible for Others' Health and Safety — How much responsibility is there for the health and safety of others in this job?	20	Very high responsibility
	14	High responsibility
	50	Moderate responsibility
	16	Limited responsibility
	0	No responsibility

Helpers - Production Workers not only engage in teamwork in 92% of jobs, they have moderate or greater responsibility for safety of other in 84% of jobs; deal with customers in 43% of jobs; coordinate or lead others in 79% of jobs; and most importantly have more than occasional contact with others in 83% of jobs.  

Here is the OOH report (from OccuCollect):  

Occupational Outlook Handbook Report

Quick Facts: Helpers--production workers
Typical Entry-Level Education	High school diploma or equivalent
Work experience in a related occupation	None
On the job training	Short-term on-the-job training
Number of jobs, 2016	426,000
Employment Projections	XLSX

While 8% of the number of jobs is a big number, how many of them have the other characteristics contained in the hypothetical question and how do you know that?  Vocational experts are not statisticians.