[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 2, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34478-34483]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-16692]
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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
Social Security Ruling SSR 96-9p., Titles II and XVI: Determining
Capability To Do Other Work--Implications of a Residual Functional
Capacity for Less Than a Full Range of Sedentary Work
AGENCY: Social Security Administration.
ACTION: Notice of Social Security Ruling.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with 20 CFR 422.406(b)(1), the Commissioner of
Social Security gives notice of Social Security Ruling SSR 96-9p. This
Ruling explains the Social Security Administration's policies regarding
the impact of a residual functional capacity assessment for less than a
full range of sedentary work on an individual's ability to do other
work.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 2, 1996.
[[Page 34479]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joanne K. Castello, Division of
Regulations and Rulings, Social Security Administration, 6401 Security
Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235, (410) 965-1711.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Although we are not required to do so
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(1) and (a)(2), we are publishing this
Social Security Ruling in accordance with 20 CFR 422.406(b)(1).
Social Security Rulings make available to the public precedential
decisions relating to the Federal old-age, survivors, disability,
supplemental security income, and black lung benefits programs. Social
Security Rulings may be based on case decisions made at all
administrative levels of adjudication, Federal court decisions,
Commissioner's decisions, opinions of the Office of the General
Counsel, and other policy interpretations of the law and regulations.
Although Social Security Rulings do not have the force and effect
of the law or regulations, they are binding on all components of the
Social Security Administration, in accordance with 20 CFR
422.406(b)(1), and are to be relied upon as precedents in adjudicating
cases.
If this Social Security Ruling is later superseded, modified, or
rescinded, we will publish a notice in the Federal Register to that
effect.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, Programs 96.001 Social
Security--Disability Insurance; 96.002 Social Security--Retirement
Insurance; 96.004 Social Security--Survivors Insurance; 96.005
Special Benefits for Disabled Coal Miners; 96.006 Supplemental
Security Income)
Dated: June 7, 1996.
Shirley S. Chater,
Commissioner of Social Security.
Policy Interpretation Ruling--Titles II and XVI: Determining Capability
To Do Other Work--Implications of a Residual Functional Capacity for
Less Than a Full Range of Sedentary Work
Purpose: To explain the Social Security Administration's policies
regarding the impact of a residual functional capacity (RFC) assessment
for less than a full range of sedentary work on an individual's ability
to do other work. In particular, to emphasize that:
1. An RFC for less than a full range of sedentary work reflects
very serious limitations resulting from an individual's medical
impairment(s) and is expected to be relatively rare.
2. However, a finding that an individual has the ability to do less
than a full range of sedentary work does not necessarily equate with a
decision of ``disabled.'' If the performance of past relevant work is
precluded by an RFC for less than the full range of sedentary work,
consideration must still be given to whether there is other work in the
national economy that the individual is able to do, considering age,
education, and work experience.
Citations (Authority): Sections 223(d) and 1614(a) of the Social
Security Act (the Act), as amended; Regulations No. 4, sections
404.1513(c), 404.1520, 404.1520a, 404.1545, 404.1546, 404.1560,
404.1561, 404.1562, 404.1563 through 404.1567, 404.1569, 404.1569a;
appendix 1 of subpart P, section 12.00; appendix 2 of subpart P,
sections 200.00 and 201.00; Regulations No. 16, sections 416.913(c),
416.920, 416.920a, 416.945, 416.946, 416.960, 416.961, 416.962, 416.963
through 416.967, 416.969 and 416.969a.
Introduction: Under the sequential evaluation process, once it has
been determined that an individual is not engaging in substantial
gainful activity and has a ``severe'' medically determinable
impairment(s) which, though not meeting or equaling the criteria of any
listing, prevents the individual from performing past relevant work
(PRW), it must be determined whether the individual can do any other
work, considering the individual's RFC, age, education, and work
experience.
RFC is what an individual can still do despite his or her
functional limitations and restrictions caused by his or her medically
determinable physical or mental impairments. It is an administrative
assessment of the extent to which an individual's medically
determinable impairment(s), including any related symptoms, such as
pain, may cause physical or mental limitations or restrictions that may
affect his or her capacity to perform work-related physical and mental
activities. RFC is assessed by adjudicators at each level of the
administrative review process based on all of the relevant evidence in
the case record, including information about the individual's symptoms
and any ``medical source statements''--i.e., opinions about what the
individual can still do despite a severe impairment(s)--submitted by an
individual's treating source(s) or other acceptable medical source.\1\
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\1\ For a detailed discussion of the difference between the RFC
assessment, which is an administrative finding of fact, and the
opinion evidence called the ``medical source statement'' or ``MSS,''
see SSR 96-5p, ``Titles II and XVI: Medical Source Opinions on
Issues Reserved to the Commissioner.''
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RFC is the individual's maximum remaining ability to perform
sustained work on a regular and continuing basis; i.e., 8 hours a day,
for 5 days a week, or an equivalent work schedule. It is not the least
an individual can do, but the most, based on all of the information in
the case record. The RFC assessment considers only those limitations
and restrictions that are caused by an individual's physical or mental
impairments. It does not consider limitations or restrictions due to
age or body habitus, since the Act requires that an individual's
inability to work must result from the individual's physical or mental
impairment(s). (See SSR 96-8p, ``Titles II and XVI: Assessing Residual
Functional Capacity in Initial Claims.'')
Initially, the RFC assessment is a function-by-function assessment
based upon all of the relevant evidence of an individual's ability to
perform work-related activities. This RFC assessment is first used for
a function-by-function comparison with the functional demands of an
individual's PRW as he or she actually performed it and then, if
necessary, as the work is generally performed in the national
economy.\2\
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\2\ RFC may be expressed in terms of an exertional category,
such as ``light,'' if it becomes necessary to assess whether an
individual is able to perform past relevant work as it is generally
performed in the national economy. However, without the initial
function-by-function accounting of the individual's capacities, it
may not be possible to determine whether the individual is able to
perform past relevant work as it is generally performed in the
national economy because particular occupations may not require all
of the exertional and nonexertional demands necessary to perform the
full range of work at a given exertional level. See SSR 96-8p,
``Titles II and XVI: Assessing Residual Functional Capacity in
Initial Claims.''
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However, at the last step of the sequential evaluation process, the
RFC assessment is used to determine an individual's ``maximum sustained
work capability'' and, where solely non-exertional impairments are not
involved, must be expressed in terms of the exertional classifications
of work: sedentary, light, medium, heavy, and very heavy work. The
rules of appendix 2 of subpart P of Regulations No. 4 take
administrative notice of the existence of numerous unskilled
occupations within each of these exertional levels. The rules are then
used to direct decisions about whether an individual is disabled or,
when the individual is unable to perform the full range of work
contemplated by an exertional level(s), as a framework for
decisionmaking considering the individual's RFC, age, education, and
work experience.
The impact of an RFC for less than a full range of sedentary work
is especially critical for individuals who have not yet attained age
50. Since age,
[[Page 34480]]
education, and work experience are not usually significant factors in
limiting the ability of individuals under age 50 to make an adjustment
to other work,\3\ the conclusion whether such individuals who are
limited to less than the full range of sedentary work are disabled will
depend primarily on the nature and extent of their functional
limitations or restrictions. On the other hand, since the rules in
Table No. 1 of appendix 2, ``Residual Functional Capacity: Maximum
Sustained Work Capability Limited to Sedentary Work as a Result of
Severe Medically Determinable Impairment(s),'' direct a decision of
``disabled'' for individuals age 50 and over who are limited to a full
range of sedentary work, unless the individual has transferable skills
or education that provides for direct entry into skilled sedentary
work, the impact of an RFC for less than the full range of sedentary
work in such individuals is less critical.
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\3\ However, ``younger individuals'' age 45-49 who are unable to
communicate in English or who are illiterate in English and who are
limited to even a full range of sedentary work must be found
disabled under rule 201.17 in Table No. 1.
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Policy Interpretation: Under the regulations, ``sedentary work''
represents a significantly restricted range of work. Individuals who
are limited to no more than sedentary work by their medical impairments
have very serious functional limitations. For the majority of
individuals who are age 50 or older and who are limited to the full
range of sedentary work by their medical impairments, the rules and
guidelines in appendix 2 require a conclusion of ``disabled.''
Nevertheless, the rules in Table No. 1 in appendix 2 take
administrative notice that there are approximately 200 separate
unskilled sedentary occupations, each representing numerous jobs, in
the national economy.\4\ Therefore, even though ``sedentary work''
represents a significantly restricted range of work, this range in
itself is not so prohibitively restricted as to negate work capability
for substantial gainful activity in all individuals.
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\4\ An ``occupation'' refers to a grouping of numerous
individual ``jobs'' with similar duties. Within occupations (e.g.,
``carpenter'') there may be variations among jobs performed for
different employers (e.g., ``rough carpenter'').
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Moreover, since each occupation administratively noticed by Table
No. 1 represents numerous jobs, the ability to do even a limited range
of sedentary work does not in itself establish disability in all
individuals, although a finding of ``disabled'' usually applies when
the full range of sedentary work is significantly eroded (see Using the
Rules in Table No. 1 as a Framework: ``Erosion'' of the Occupational
Base below). In deciding whether an individual who is limited to a
partial range of sedentary work is able to make an adjustment to work
other than any PRW, the adjudicator is required to make an
individualized determination, considering age, education, and work
experience, including any skills the individual may have that are
transferable to other work, or education that provides for direct entry
into skilled work, under the rules and guidelines in the regulations.
Sedentary Work
The ability to perform the full range of sedentary work requires
the ability to lift no more than 10 pounds at a time and occasionally
to lift or carry articles like docket files, ledgers, and small tools.
Although a sedentary job is defined as one that involves sitting, a
certain amount of walking and standing is often necessary in carrying
out job duties. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required
occasionally and other sedentary criteria are met. ``Occasionally''
means occurring from very little up to one-third of the time, and would
generally total no more than about 2 hours of an 8-hour workday.
Sitting would generally total about 6 hours of an 8-hour workday.
Unskilled sedentary work also involves other activities, classified as
``nonexertional,'' such as capacities for seeing, manipulation, and
understanding, remembering, and carrying out simple instructions.
The Occupational Base for Sedentary Work
The term ``occupational base'' means the approximate number of
occupations that an individual has the RFC to perform considering all
exertional and nonexertional limitations and restrictions. (See SSR 83-
10, ``Titles II and XVI: Determining Capability to Do Other Work--The
Medical-Vocational Rules of Appendix 2'' (C.E. 1981-1985, p. 516).) A
full range of sedentary work includes all or substantially all of the
approximately 200 5 unskilled sedentary occupations
administratively noticed in Table No. 1.
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\5\ The regulations specify that this is an approximation. The
revised fourth edition of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles and
its companion volumes (the DOT, 1991) lists 137 separate
occupations. However, the introduction to Volume I explains that the
fourth edition of the DOT (1977) ``substantially modified or
combined with related definitions'' several thousand definitions
from the third edition. In 1992, we published a notice in the
Federal Register explaining that an analysis of the revised fourth
edition of the DOT and available data for the then upcoming volume
of the Selected Characteristics of Occupations Defined in the
Revised Dictionary of Occupational Titles (SCO) showed ``that the
range of work of which the medical-vocational rules take
administrative notice continues to represent more occupations than
would be required to represent significant numbers,'' and that ``we
have received no significant data or other evidence to indicate that
* * * the unskilled occupational base * * * has changed
substantially.'' (See 57 FR 43005, September 17, 1992.) In February
1996, contact with the North Carolina Occupational Analysis Field
Center, the organization that compiles the data the Department of
Labor uses in the SCO, confirmed that there are no precise updated
data but that the regulatory estimate of approximately 200 sedentary
unskilled occupations is still valid, because some of the 137
occupations in the current edition of the DOT comprise more than one
of the separate occupations of which we take administrative notice.
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Thus, the RFC addressed by a particular rule in Table No. 1
establishes an occupational base that at a minimum includes the full
range of unskilled sedentary occupations administratively noticed. The
base may be broadened by the addition of specific skilled or
semiskilled occupations that an individual with an RFC limited to
sedentary work can perform by reason of his or her education or work
experience. However, if the individual has no transferable skills or no
education or training that provides for direct entry into skilled work,
the occupational base represented by the rules in Table No. 1 comprises
only the sedentary unskilled occupations in the national economy that
such an individual can perform.
The rules in Table No. 1 direct conclusions as to disability where
the findings of fact coincide with all of the criteria of a particular
rule; i.e., RFC (a maximum sustained work capability for sedentary
work) and the vocational factors of age, education, and work
experience. In order for a rule in Table No. 1 to direct a conclusion
of ``not disabled,'' the individual must be able to perform the full
range of work administratively noticed by a rule. This means that the
individual must be able to perform substantially all of the strength
demands defining the sedentary level of exertion, as well as the
physical and mental nonexertional demands that are also required for
the performance of substantially all of the unskilled work considered
at the sedentary level. Therefore, in order for a rule to direct a
conclusion of ``not disabled,'' an individual must also have no
impairment that restricts the nonexertional capabilities to a level
below those needed to perform unskilled work, in this case, at the
sedentary level.
[[Page 34481]]
Using the Rules in Table No. 1 as a Framework: ``Erosion'' of the
Occupational Base
Where any one of the findings of fact does not coincide with the
corresponding criterion of a rule in Table No. 1 (except in those cases
where the concept of borderline age applies 6), the rule does not
direct a decision. In cases such as the following, the medical-
vocational rules must be used as a framework for considering the extent
of any erosion of the sedentary occupational base:
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\6\ See 20 CFR 404.1563(a) and 416.963(a) and SSR 83-10.
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Any one of an individual's exertional capacities is
determined to be less than that required to perform a full range of
sedentary work; or
Based on an individual's exertional capacities, a rule in
Table No. 1 would direct a decision of ``not disabled,'' but the
individual also has a nonexertional limitation(s) that narrows the
potential range of sedentary work to which he or she might be able to
adjust (i.e., the individual has the exertional capacity to do the full
range of sedentary work, but the sedentary occupational base is reduced
because of at least one nonexertional limitation).
When there is a reduction in an individual's exertional or
nonexertional capacity so that he or she is unable to perform
substantially all of the occupations administratively noticed in Table
No. 1, the individual will be unable to perform the full range of
sedentary work: the occupational base will be ``eroded'' by the
additional limitations or restrictions. However, the mere inability to
perform substantially all sedentary unskilled occupations does not
equate with a finding of disability. There may be a number of
occupations from the approximately 200 occupations administratively
noticed, and jobs that exist in significant numbers, that an individual
may still be able to perform even with a sedentary occupational base
that has been eroded.
Whether the individual will be able to make an adjustment to other
work requires adjudicative judgment regarding factors such as the type
and extent of the individual's limitations or restrictions and the
extent of the erosion of the occupational base; i.e., the impact of the
limitations or restrictions on the number of sedentary unskilled
occupations or the total number of jobs to which the individual may be
able to adjust, considering his or her age, education, and work
experience, including any transferable skills or education providing
for direct entry into skilled work. Where there is more than a slight
impact on the individual's ability to perform the full range of
sedentary work, if the adjudicator finds that the individual is able to
do other work, the adjudicator must cite examples of occupations or
jobs the individual can do and provide a statement of the incidence of
such work in the region where the individual resides or in several
regions of the country.
Exertional and Nonexertional Limitations and Restrictions
Exertional capacity addresses an individual's limitations and
restrictions of physical strength and defines the individual's
remaining ability to perform each of seven strength demands: Sitting,
standing, walking, lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling. An
exertional limitation is an impairment-caused limitation of any one of
these activities.
Nonexertional capacity considers any work-related limitations and
restrictions that are not exertional. Therefore, a nonexertional
limitation is an impairment-caused limitation affecting such capacities
as mental abilities, vision, hearing, speech, climbing, balancing,
stooping, kneeling, crouching, crawling, reaching, handling, fingering,
and feeling. Environmental restrictions are also considered to be
nonexertional.
Thus, it is the nature of an individual's limitations and
restrictions, not certain impairments or symptoms, that determines
whether the individual will be found to have only exertional
limitations or restrictions, only nonexertional limitations or
restrictions, or a combination of exertional and nonexertional
limitations or restrictions. For example, even though mental
impairments often affect nonexertional functions, they may also limit
exertional capacity affecting one of the seven strength demands; e.g.,
from fatigue or hysterical paralysis. Likewise, symptoms, including
pain, are not intrinsically exertional or nonexertional; when a symptom
causes a limitation in one of the seven strength demands, the
limitation must be considered exertional. (See SSR 96-8p, ``Titles II
and XVI: Assessing Residual Functional Capacity in Initial Claims.'')
Guidelines for Evaluating the Ability To Do Less Than a Full Range of
Sedentary Work
The following sections provide adjudicative guidance as to the
impact of various RFC limitations and restrictions on the unskilled
sedentary occupational base. The RFC assessment must include a
narrative that shows the presence and degree of any specific
limitations and restrictions, as well as an explanation of how the
evidence in file was considered in the assessment. The individual's
maximum remaining capacities to perform sustained work on a regular and
continuing basis (what he or she can still do 8 hours a day, for 5 days
a week, or an equivalent work schedule) must be stated.
An accurate accounting of an individual's abilities, limitations,
and restrictions is necessary to determine the extent of erosion of the
occupational base, the types of sedentary occupations an individual
might still be able to do, and whether it will be necessary to make use
of a vocational resource. The RFC assessment must be sufficiently
complete to allow an adjudicator to make an informed judgment regarding
these issues.
Exertional Limitations and Restrictions
Lifting/carrying and pushing/pulling: If an individual is unable to
lift 10 pounds or occasionally lift and carry items like docket files,
ledgers, and small tools throughout the workday, the unskilled
sedentary occupational base will be eroded. The extent of erosion will
depend on the extent of the limitations. For example, if it can be
determined that the individual has an ability to lift or carry slightly
less than 10 pounds, with no other limitations or restrictions in the
ability to perform the requirements of sedentary work, the unskilled
sedentary occupational base would not be significantly eroded; however,
an inability to lift or carry more than 1 or 2 pounds would erode the
unskilled sedentary occupational base significantly. For individuals
with limitations in lifting or carrying weights between these amounts,
consultation with a vocational resource may be appropriate.
Limitations or restrictions on the ability to push or pull will
generally have little effect on the unskilled sedentary occupational
base.
Standing and walking: The full range of sedentary work requires
that an individual be able to stand and walk for a total of
approximately 2 hours during an 8-hour workday. If an individual can
stand and walk for a total of slightly less than 2 hours per 8-hour
workday, this, by itself, would not cause the occupational base to be
significantly eroded. Conversely, a limitation to standing and walking
for a total of only a few minutes during the workday would erode the
unskilled sedentary occupational base significantly. For individuals
able to stand and walk in between the slightly less than 2 hours and
only a few minutes, it may be
[[Page 34482]]
appropriate to consult a vocational resource.
Sitting: In order to perform a full range of sedentary work, an
individual must be able to remain in a seated position for
approximately 6 hours of an 8-hour workday, with a morning break, a
lunch period, and an afternoon break at approximately 2-hour intervals.
If an individual is unable to sit for a total of 6 hours in an 8-hour
work day, the unskilled sedentary occupational base will be eroded. The
extent of the limitation should be considered in determining whether
the individual has the ability to make an adjustment to other work. See
Alternate sitting and standing below.
The fact that an individual cannot do the sitting required to
perform the full range of sedentary work does not necessarily mean that
he or she cannot perform other work at a higher exertional level. In
unusual cases, some individuals will be able to stand and walk longer
than they are able to sit. If an individual is able to stand and walk
for approximately 6 hours in an 8-hour workday (and meets the other
requirements for light work), there may be a significant number of
light jobs in the national economy that he or she can do even if there
are not a significant number of sedentary jobs.
Alternate sitting and standing: An individual may need to alternate
the required sitting of sedentary work by standing (and, possibly,
walking) periodically. Where this need cannot be accommodated by
scheduled breaks and a lunch period, the occupational base for a full
range of unskilled sedentary work will be eroded. The extent of the
erosion will depend on the facts in the case record, such as the
frequency of the need to alternate sitting and standing and the length
of time needed to stand. The RFC assessment must be specific as to the
frequency of the individual's need to alternate sitting and standing.
It may be especially useful in these situations to consult a vocational
resource in order to determine whether the individual is able to make
an adjustment to other work.
Medically required hand-held assistive device: To find that a hand-
held assistive device is medically required, there must be medical
documentation establishing the need for a hand-held assistive device to
aid in walking or standing, and describing the circumstances for which
it is needed (i.e., whether all the time, periodically, or only in
certain situations; distance and terrain; and any other relevant
information). The adjudicator must always consider the particular facts
of a case. For example, if a medically required hand-held assistive
device is needed only for prolonged ambulation, walking on uneven
terrain, or ascending or descending slopes, the unskilled sedentary
occupational base will not ordinarily be significantly eroded.
Since most unskilled sedentary work requires only occasional
lifting and carrying of light objects such as ledgers and files and a
maximum lifting capacity for only 10 pounds, an individual who uses a
medically required hand-held assistive device in one hand may still
have the ability to perform the minimal lifting and carrying
requirements of many sedentary unskilled occupations with the other
hand.7 For example, an individual who must use a hand-held
assistive device to aid in walking or standing because of an impairment
that affects one lower extremity (e.g., an unstable knee), or to reduce
pain when walking, who is limited to sedentary work because of the
impairment affecting the lower extremity, and who has no other
functional limitations or restrictions may still have the ability to
make an adjustment to sedentary work that exists in significant
numbers. On the other hand, the occupational base for an individual who
must use such a device for balance because of significant involvement
of both lower extremities (e.g., because of a neurological impairment)
may be significantly eroded.
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\7\ Bilateral manual dexterity is needed when sitting but is not
generally necessary when performing the standing and walking
requirements of sedentary work.
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In these situations, too, it may be especially useful to consult a
vocational resource in order to make a judgment regarding the
individual's ability to make an adjustment to other work.
Nonexertional Limitations and Restrictions
Postural limitations: Postural limitations or restrictions related
to such activities as climbing ladders, ropes, or scaffolds, balancing,
kneeling, crouching, or crawling would not usually erode the
occupational base for a full range of unskilled sedentary work
significantly because those activities are not usually required in
sedentary work. In the SCO, ``balancing'' means maintaining body
equilibrium to prevent falling when walking, standing, crouching, or
running on narrow, slippery, or erratically moving surfaces. If an
individual is limited in balancing only on narrow, slippery, or
erratically moving surfaces, this would not, by itself, result in a
significant erosion of the unskilled sedentary occupational base.
However, if an individual is limited in balancing even when standing or
walking on level terrain, there may be a significant erosion of the
unskilled sedentary occupational base. It is important to state in the
RFC assessment what is meant by limited balancing in order to determine
the remaining occupational base. Consultation with a vocational
resource may be appropriate in some cases.
An ability to stoop occasionally; i.e., from very little up to one-
third of the time, is required in most unskilled sedentary occupations.
A complete inability to stoop would significantly erode the unskilled
sedentary occupational base and a finding that the individual is
disabled would usually apply, but restriction to occasional stooping
should, by itself, only minimally erode the unskilled occupational base
of sedentary work. Consultation with a vocational resource may be
particularly useful for cases where the individual is limited to less
than occasional stooping.
Manipulative limitations: Most unskilled sedentary jobs require
good use of both hands and the fingers; i.e., bilateral manual
dexterity. Fine movements of small objects require use of the fingers;
e.g., to pick or pinch. Most unskilled sedentary jobs require good use
of the hands and fingers for repetitive hand-finger actions.
Any significant manipulative limitation of an individual's ability
to handle and work with small objects with both hands will result in a
significant erosion of the unskilled sedentary occupational base. For
example, example 1 in section 201.00(h) of appendix 2, describes an
individual who has an impairment that prevents the performance of any
sedentary occupations that require bilateral manual dexterity (i.e.,
``limits the individual to sedentary jobs which do not require
bilateral manual dexterity''). When the limitation is less significant,
especially if the limitation is in the non-dominant hand, it may be
useful to consult a vocational resource.
The ability to feel the size, shape, temperature, or texture of an
object by the fingertips is a function required in very few jobs and
impairment of this ability would not, by itself, significantly erode
the unskilled sedentary occupational base.
Visual limitations or restrictions: Most sedentary unskilled
occupations require working with small objects. If a visual limitation
prevents an individual from seeing the small objects involved in most
sedentary unskilled work, or if an individual is not able to avoid
ordinary hazards in the workplace, such as boxes
[[Page 34483]]
on the floor, doors ajar, or approaching people or vehicles, there will
be a significant erosion of the sedentary occupational base. These
cases may require the use of vocational resources.
Communicative limitations: Basic communication is all that is
needed to do unskilled work. The ability to hear and understand simple
oral instructions or to communicate simple information is sufficient.
If the individual retains these basic communication abilities, the
unskilled sedentary occupational base would not be significantly eroded
in these areas.
Environmental restrictions: An ``environmental restriction'' is an
impairment-caused need to avoid an environmental condition in a
workplace. Definitions for various workplace environmental conditions
are found in the SCO; e.g., ``extreme cold'' is exposure to nonweather-
related cold temperatures.
In general, few occupations in the unskilled sedentary occupational
base require work in environments with extreme cold, extreme heat,
wetness, humidity, vibration, or unusual hazards. The ``hazards''
defined in the SCO are considered unusual in unskilled sedentary work.
They include: moving mechanical parts of equipment, tools, or
machinery; electrical shock; working in high, exposed places; exposure
to radiation; working with explosives; and exposure to toxic, caustic
chemicals. Even a need to avoid all exposure to these conditions would
not, by itself, result in a significant erosion of the occupational
base.
Since all work environments entail some level of noise,
restrictions on the ability to work in a noisy workplace must be
evaluated on an individual basis. The unskilled sedentary occupational
base may or may not be significantly eroded depending on the facts in
the case record. In such cases, it may be especially useful to consult
a vocational resource.
Restrictions to avoid exposure to odors or dust must also be
evaluated on an individual basis. The RFC assessment must specify which
environments are restricted and state the extent of the restriction;
e.g., whether only excessive or even small amounts of dust must be
avoided.
Mental limitations or restrictions: A substantial loss of ability
to meet any one of several basic work-related activities on a sustained
basis (i.e., 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, or an equivalent work
schedule), will substantially erode the unskilled sedentary
occupational base and would justify a finding of disability. These
mental activities are generally required by competitive, remunerative,
unskilled work:
Understanding, remembering, and carrying out simple
instructions.
Making judgments that are commensurate with the functions
of unskilled work--i.e., simple work-related decisions.
Responding appropriately to supervision, co-workers and
usual work situations.
Dealing with changes in a routine work setting.
A less than substantial loss of ability to perform any of the above
basic work activities may or may not significantly erode the unskilled
sedentary occupational base. The individual's remaining capacities must
be assessed and a judgment made as to their effects on the unskilled
occupational base considering the other vocational factors of age,
education, and work experience. When an individual has been found to
have a limited ability in one or more of these basic work activities,
it may be useful to consult a vocational resource.
Use of Vocational Resources
When the extent of erosion of the unskilled sedentary occupational
base is not clear, the adjudicator may consult various authoritative
written resources, such as the DOT, the SCO, the Occupational Outlook
Handbook, or County Business Patterns.
In more complex cases, the adjudicator may use the resources of a
vocational specialist or vocational expert.8 The vocational
resource may be asked to provide any or all of the following: An
analysis of the impact of the RFC upon the full range of sedentary
work, which the adjudicator may consider in determining the extent of
the erosion of the occupational base, examples of occupations the
individual may be able to perform, and citations of the existence and
number of jobs in such occupations in the national economy.
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\8\ At the hearings and appeals levels, vocational experts (VEs)
are vocational professionals who provide impartial expert opinion
during the hearings and appeals process either by testifying or by
providing written responses to interrogatories. A VE may be used
before, during, or after a hearing. Whenever a VE is used, the
individual has the right to review and respond to the VE evidence
prior to the issuance of a decision. The VE's opinion is not binding
on an adjudicator, but must be weighed along with all other
evidence.
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Effective Date: This Ruling is effective on the date of its
publication in the Federal Register.
Cross-References: SSR 86-8, ``Titles II and XVI: The Sequential
Evaluation Process'' (C.E. 1986, p. 78), SSR 83-10, ``Titles II and
XVI: Determining Capability to Do Other Work--The Medical-Vocational
Rules of Appendix 2'' (C.E. 1981-1985, p. 516), SSR 83-12, ``Titles II
and XVI: Capability to Do Other Work--The Medical-Vocational Rules as a
Framework for Evaluating Exertional Limitations Within a Range of Work
or Between Ranges of Work'' (C.E. 1981-1985, p. 529), SSR 83-14,
``Titles II and XVI: Capability to Do Other Work--The Medical-
Vocational Rules as a Framework for Evaluating a Combination of
Exertional and Nonexertional Impairments'' (C.E. 1981-1985, p. 535),
SSR 85-15, ``Titles II and XVI: Capability to Do Other Work--The
Medical-Vocational Rules as a Framework for Evaluating Solely
Nonexertional Impairments'' (C.E. 1981-1985, p. 543), SSR-96 8p,
``Titles II and XVI: Assessing Residual Functional Capacity in Initial
Claims;'' Program Operations Manual System, sections DI 24510.001, DI
24510.005, DI 24510.010, DI 24510.050, DI 24515.061, DI 25001.001, DI
25010.001, DI 25020.005, DI 25020.010, DI 25020.015, DI 25025.001 and
DI 28005.015; and Hearings, Appeals, and Litigation Law Manual,
sections I-2-548 and I-2-550.
[FR Doc. 96-16692 Filed 7-01-96; 8:45 am]
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