Like many federal bureaucracies, Social Security has developed its own language for describing many of the concepts that underlie a disability evaluation.  Since disability considers your capacity to work by looking at both your past work and about other jobs, a description of your past work is an important part of your case evaluation.   You should try to become familiar with some of these terms prior to your hearing.

At Social Security hearings, judges often call vocational witnesses to classify your past relevant work.   Generally Social Security is concerned with your past relevant work over the past 15 years.  Short durations jobs of less than 3 months are usually considered unsuccessful work attempts (UWA) and don't count as past relevant work.

Vocational witnesses identify both the "exertional level" of your past relevant work as well as the "skill level" of that work.   Jobs are classified exertionally as:

• sedentary
• light
• medium
• heavy
• very heavy

More explanation about what these exertional levels mean – page on this blog;  post from Colorado disability lawyer Tomasz Stasiuk

Jobs are classified by skill level as:

• unskilled
• semi-skilled
• skilled

Vocational experts use a resource called the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (D.O.T.) to classify the exertional and skill level of every job that (in theory) exists in the national economy of the United States.  You can read the D.O.T. online by clicking on the link. Read more on Understanding How Social Security Classifies Your Past Work…

In my law office, I always try to schedule a pre-hearing meeting with my client one to two weeks prior to my client's hearing.  I use this meeting to discuss the "big picture" issues and to practice asking and answering questions that my client is likely to face.

One line of questioning that always comes up relates to my client's capacity to perform various physical activities, such as lifting, sitting, standing and walking.  Physical activities like these are known as "exertional" activities by the Social Security Administration and one's exertional capacity is almost always a factor in questions asked of the vocational witness.

For Social Security purposes, your exertional capacity is defined as follows:

Sedentary: Requires the ability to sit up to six hours in an eight hour work day, lift light objects such as files and paperwork frequently during the day, and objects weighing up to 10 pounds occasionally during the day.

Light: Requires the ability to stand up to six hours in an eight hour work day, lift up to 10 pounds frequently and up to 20 pounds occasionally.

Medium: Requires the ability to stand up to six hours in an eight hour work day, lift up to 25 pounds frequently and 50 pounds occasionally.

Heavy: Same standing as light and medium, lifting heavier than medium.

As you can see, each of these definitions includes some very specific numbers.  When you prepare to testify, you will need to be prepared to discuss your capacities. Read more on Hearing Testimony Tip: Know How Much You Can Lift and How Far You Can Walk…

what are your chances of winning a case at a hearing when there is no voc rehab guy or medical specialist to assist the alj in a decision.
–Lamont

My response: Lamont, I think that yes you can win if the judge does not use a VE or an ME.   Here is how I would analyze:

First, what is the custom in your hearing office?  In Atlanta, where I practice, all but one or two judges regularly use vocational expert witnesses.  There are a couple of judges who almost never use them.   If a judge who always uses a VE hears a case without VE testimony, it most likely means that the issue is fairly clear cut one way or the other.

In the Atlanta hearing offices, judges rarely use medical experts – in my practice I would estimate that ME's appear about 15% of the time.  The absence of an ME would be of less concern to me here in Atlanta. Read more on Will I Win if the Judge Does Not Use a Vocational Witness or Medical Expert?…

One of the least intuitive elements of a Social Security hearing is the vocational witness testimony.  Social Security judges frequently request the presence of vocational witnesses (also known as "VE's"), independent experts who appear at your hearing to classify your past work and to answer hypothetical questions from the judge about work you might be able to do, given the limitations set out in the hypothetical question.

Read more on How do Vocational Witnesses Prepare for Your Hearing?…

Yesterday, I appeared with a client at a video hearing with a judge from West Virginia.  This was actually our second hearing – the first hearing was held in August, 2006.  My client applied for benefits in July, 2003, which means that his case has been pending over 3 1/2 years.  During that time, my client and his wife had to file bankruptcy and he has exhausted all of his pension and 401(k) money. 

Read more on Perceptive Judge Overcomes Poorly Prepared Vocational Witness…

Can something I say at my Disabilty hearing cause me to lose my case? My ALJ asked me if my RA had gotten worse since I quit working, I replied no, and he said "so it doesnt get worse with movement?", I replied "no" to that too, but he didnt ask me why I said that and my lawyer told me not to elaborate and to just answer the question.

Read more on Can a Claimant's Testimony at a Hearing Ruin a Case?…