I have helped Social Security disability claimants in thousands of hearings. In nearly every adult case, Social Security will call a vocational witness to give testimony. These are also called "vocational experts." They are vocational rehabilitation counselors who are educated in job skills and the job market - and they must know the rules and regulations of the Social Security Administration.
What is the purpose of the Vocational Expert (VE)?
In short, the VE has two functions at the hearing:
1. (S)he will be asked to classify the claimant's past relevant work (PRW) according to:
- Skill Level: Was each job skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled
- Exertion: Was each job sedentary, light, medium, hard or very hard?
2. (S)he will take the judge's hypothetical work restrictions and provide examples of the kind of jobs available to the claimant in the national economy. (Not the local economy, the national economy).
Remember your goal at the hearing: To show that your condition is so severe that you cannot perform any job that exists in the national economy. So, the VE's testimony is very crucial. If the VE names jobs that you could perform, given your current work restrictions, you will be denied.
Proving that someone is so disabled that they cannot perform ANY job which exists in the national economy is a tall order.
But, if you are under age 50, that is exactly what you must prove to be awarded benefits. And you (or your lawyer) must get the VE to admit that you cannot perform any work in the national economy.
If you are 50 or over, you may only have to prove that you cannot perform any past relevant work--which means the full-time jobs you have held within the 5 years prior to filing for disability.
Handling the testimony of the Vocational Expert is possibly the most crucial job in a hearing. Victory or defeat literally rests with the VE's testimony in most cases.
It requires training, skill and resolve to deal with Social Security's vocational experts (VE's). That is a job best handled by an attorney or experienced disability advocate who understands vocational testimony and how to clarify or discredit it.
I think that most unrepresented claimants are simply shocked when they encounter these government experts in their hearing. Here is an individual speaking a 'foreign' language that you don't understand, talking about DOT codes and SVP factors--and jobs you have never heard of--telling the judge that you could be a pickle pusher, a copy collator or a garment hanger. You realize, now near the end of your hearing, that you're in deep water and can't see the far shore. But it's too late. This is the only hearing you will get and the VE has just blown you out of the water.
If the Government is going to have their experts in the hearing, shouldn't you have your own expert? It's just common sense!
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The Forsythe Firm in Huntsville - Social Security disability specialists--
(256) 799-0297.
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