Brian W. v. Commissioner of Social Security

Summary

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois reviewed the Commissioner of Social Security’s denial of Brian W.’s application for Disability Insurance Benefits. The court reversed the Commissioner’s decision and remanded the matter for rehearing and reconsideration under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g).

Holdings

1. The Commissioner did not meet the step-five burden because the ALJ relied on an erroneously identified occupation and did not determine whether the remaining 22,000 jobs constituted a significant number of jobs in the national economy.
2. The ALJ could not rely on the vocational expert's identification of DOT 205.367-030 as an office-clerk position because the DOT code corresponds to an election clerk, and the vocational testimony did not properly identify the position.
3. On remand, the ALJ should obtain clear vocational-expert testimony concerning whether the addressing-clerk and document-preparer occupations remain viable, their current exertional and skill demands, and whether their national job numbers have changed.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Commissioner met the step-five burden of demonstrating, through substantial evidence, that a significant number of jobs existed in the national economy that Plaintiff could perform.
2. Whether the ALJ could rely on vocational-expert testimony identifying DOT 205.367-030 as an office clerk when that code identifies an election clerk.
3. Whether remand was warranted because the ALJ did not address whether the remaining 22,000 jobs constituted a significant number after excluding the erroneously identified occupation.
4. Whether additional vocational-expert clarification was warranted concerning the current duties, skill levels, and national job numbers for the document-preparer and addressing-clerk occupations.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded