By Jeffrey Freedman
As seen in the Bar Association of Erie County Bulletin – July/August 2024
Earlier this year we highlighted the fact that the Social Security Administration (SSA) continued to use a publication called the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (last updated in 1977) to determine if Social Security Disability (SSD) applicants were able to work at any job in the local economy. This list included occupations such as nut sorter, pneumatic tube operator and microfilm processor — jobs that no longer exist in today’s market. The repercussions of this practice meant disability claimants who waited years to see their claim processed by the SSA were often denied benefits based on the concept there were jobs they could work at, when there actually were no such jobs.
Finally last month, Commissioner Martin O’Malley decided the agency would stop using 114 of the obsolete jobs on the list, taking a step towards a more fair and equitable process for awarding benefits to SSD claimants. According to an internal fact sheet, in 2012 the agency enlisted the Bureau of Labor Statistics to develop a modern list of occupations and the skill sets required for those job. The cost of this new list has been $250 million to date, and it is expected another $50 million will be spent before it is in use. O’Malley says the SSA cannot switch over to the state-of-the-art system because, “it requires further study.” He also said implementation of the new system will require a long regulatory process and retraining of agency staff.
There is disagreement as to the actual effects of using the modern list of occupations. The majority of claimants’ advocates believe using a more up-to-date list of jobs will result in higher approval rates of SSD claims. Some conservative members of Congress however, believe many disabled people will be able to work at computer-centered occupations, leading to fewer claimants receiving benefits. David Weaver, former SS associate commissioner said he believes removing outdated jobs will have little effect on a process that has been broken a long time.
“Simply striking occupations from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles is a political solution to a technical problem,” Weaver said. He pointed out there are thousands of disability claimants whose applications have been denied based on the now stricken occupations, and there is no plan as to how SS will deal with the ongoing cases that relied on the outdated data. Thousands of those ongoing cases are under appeal in Federal Courts, and more may join them, increasing the backlog of claims, which last year reached over a million.
David Camp, chief executive officer of the National Organization of Social Security Disability Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR) said, “These updates are a step in the right direction, but we look forward to working with SSA on a more comprehensive solution that sunsets the DOT (Dictionary of Occupational Titles) entirely.”
Republican Senators on the Senate Finance Committee want the issue of the outdated list to be resolved sooner rather than later. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), the committee’s top Republican, said, “If they are able to use the modern data they could get better results for recipients and save money in the process.”