The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced a significant change in its approach to evaluating disability claims. The agency will no longer rely on a list of outdated jobs to determine whether applicants can work, a practice that has long been criticized for denying benefits to those who need them.
### Outdated Job Listings
For decades, the SSA has used the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), a publication developed in 1938, to assess the types of work that individuals with disabilities might still be able to perform. This list includes jobs such as pneumatic tube operator, microfilm processor, and nut sorter—positions that are virtually obsolete in today’s economy. The DOT was last updated in 1991, and many of the jobs it lists no longer exist or have been automated.
### The Impact on Disability Claims
The reliance on this outdated list has had a profound impact on disability claims. For example, Robert Heard, a 47-year-old electrician who suffered two debilitating strokes, was denied benefits because a vocational expert claimed he could work as a nut sorter, dowel inspector, or egg processor—jobs that are nearly extinct. Despite his severe impairments, the judge denied his claim, citing these obsolete job opportunities.
### The Need for Modernization
The SSA has been aware of the need to update its vocational information for years. Since the 1990s, the agency has deliberated on how to revise the list to reflect modern job opportunities. In 2012, the SSA began developing a new system called the Occupational Information System (OIS), which aims to provide updated occupational information. The OIS has cost approximately $239 million in pre-production testing and data collection between fiscal years 2012 and 2022 but has yet to be implemented.
### The New System: Occupational Information System (OIS)
The OIS is designed to broadly describe the requirements of occupations in the national economy and the ranges in which workers within occupations carry out critical tasks. This new system is expected to replace the outdated DOT and provide a more accurate reflection of the current job market. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has already built a new, interactive system using a national sample of 60,000 employers and 440 occupations covering 95% of the economy. However, the SSA has not yet instructed its staff to use this new data.
### Political and Administrative Challenges
The delay in implementing the OIS is rooted in conflicting political considerations, shifting leadership, and the complexities of large federal projects. Over the past two decades, the SSA has been led by six acting commissioners and just three Senate-confirmed leaders, creating power vacuums that have delayed costly projects. Many advocates believe the agency is motivated to delay the project to deny more claimants benefits.
### Congressional and Judicial Pressure
Congress continues to approve more than $30 million per year for the survey of modern jobs without asking hard questions about why the data sits unused. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden has called on the SSA to move forward, emphasizing that occupational definitions need to reflect the reality of the work Americans are doing today. Federal courts have also been critical, frequently overturning denials based on the old data and urging the SSA to modernize its system.
### The Human Cost
The outdated system has led to thousands of disability claims being denied each year that would otherwise have a good chance of approval. For instance, Sean Dooley, a former jewelry salesman with chronic pain and limited stamina, was denied benefits because a vocational expert claimed he could work as an order clerk, an addresser, or a call-out operator—jobs he had never heard of. His denial was eventually overturned by a U.S. district court, but the process took a significant toll on his life.
### Moving Forward
The SSA plans to ask the BLS to refresh its occupational information every five years, with the next wave of data collection scheduled to start in 2023 at a cost of $167 million. While the agency has not provided a clear timeline for when the new data will be implemented, the pressure from Congress, the courts, and disability advocates is mounting.
### Conclusion
The SSA’s decision to stop using outdated job listings to deny disability claims is a long-overdue step toward a more fair and accurate system. By adopting the OIS and utilizing modern job data, the agency can better serve the millions of Americans who rely on disability benefits. However, the successful implementation of this new system will require continued oversight and pressure from all stakeholders involved.
Source: The Washington Post, The Guardian
