Julie D. v. Frank Bisignano, Commissioner of Social Security

Summary

The court vacated the Commissioner of Social Security’s denial of benefits and remanded the case for further proceedings. It held that, after finding the claimant required ready access to a bathroom because of irritable bowel syndrome and interstitial cystitis, the ALJ was required to make findings regarding the frequency and duration of bathroom breaks and reconcile those limitations with vocational-expert testimony concerning permissible off-task time.

Holdings

1. When an ALJ finds that a claimant's impairment requires ready access to a bathroom, the ALJ must make an affirmative finding concerning the amount of time the claimant would need to be away from the workstation for bathroom breaks.
2. The ALJ's Step 5 finding was unsupported by substantial evidence because the ALJ did not resolve whether the Plaintiff's bathroom breaks would exceed the amount of off-task time employers would tolerate.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the ALJ erred at Step 5 by finding that the Plaintiff could perform other work after imposing a bathroom-proximity limitation without making findings concerning the frequency and duration of necessary bathroom breaks.
2. Whether the ALJ's Step 5 finding was supported by substantial evidence when the ALJ did not reconcile the bathroom-break limitation with the vocational expert's testimony regarding employer tolerance for off-task time.

Disposition

vacated