C.L.T. v. Frank Bisignano, Commissioner of SSA

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of South Dakota reviews the denial of C.L.T.’s applications for Social Security disability benefits. The court concludes that the vocational expert’s testimony regarding permissible off-task restroom time and unpredictable bathroom breaks was inconsistent, and that the administrative law judge failed to address the inconsistency. The court determines that the Commissioner’s decision was not supported by substantial evidence and that remand is required.

Holdings

1. The ALJ’s decision was not supported by substantial evidence because the vocational expert gave materially inconsistent testimony concerning the effect of restroom breaks, and the ALJ relied on the favorable portion without resolving the inconsistency.
2. A sentence-four remand for further administrative proceedings, rather than an immediate award of benefits, was appropriate because the record did not overwhelmingly establish disability and required clarification and reevaluation.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the ALJ’s step-five finding was supported by substantial evidence when the vocational expert first identified jobs compatible with five percent off-task time for restroom breaks but later testified that the same jobs could not be performed with two ten-minute restroom breaks at random, unpredictable times.
2. Whether the proper remedy was remand for further administrative proceedings or an immediate award of benefits.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded