George Piemonte, NOSSCR Past President

Stop Failing Your Clients: SSR 24-3p Requires Full Cross-Examination of VEs

Under SSR 24-3p, representatives have a clear duty: fully cross-examine the vocational expert (VE). Yet, far too often, I see cases where reps either do a cursory cross or none at all. This is not just a missed opportunity; it’s a failure of advocacy. Your client’s benefits may hinge on VE testimony, and if you don’t challenge it, you’re leaving untested, unreliable evidence on the record. Unchallenged bogus vocational testimony is substantial evidence.

The Problem: “I Know It From My Experience”

We’ve all heard it: “I know it from my experience.” That statement is ipse dixit, an assertion without proof. It’s unverified and often unverifiable. The VE Handbook says VEs should bring sources and be prepared to discuss them. In reality, they rarely do, and many ALJs don’t press them. But remember: the VE’s memory is not more reliable than yours. Do you recall the details of cases you tried five years ago? Neither do they.

Worse, casual observations are often dressed up as “job surveys.” I once had a VE admit that their opinion about a laundry worker job accommodating a sit/stand option was based on the 10 seconds it took to walk past a hotel laundry room that morning. That’s not data, that’s an anecdote.

Your Job: Expose the Weakness

Your goal is to show that the testimony is unreliable. Most VEs don’t know their own statistics, and they won’t produce data. Memory is fallible. Push hard. Here’s how:

Key Cross-Examination Questions

Use these to dismantle unsupported claims:

• Sampling Validity
  • With an incidence of [number of jobs], how large does a sample need to be to yield a 95% confidence interval? (Hint: Wikipedia has the formula; online calculators abound.)
• Scope of Study
  • How many jobs did you personally study? Is that enough for a valid prediction?
• Specifics
  • When and where did you study this occupation? Actual dates, company names, addresses? Supervisor names?
• Methodology
  • What questions did you ask? Of whom? What observations did you record?
• Documentation
  • Did you make a written record? Where is it?
• Motivation
  • Why did you study this occupation? Who paid you?
• Breadth of Experience
  • How many occupations have you studied in your career? In the last 15 years?
• Reliability
  • Are you referring to your records now? How do you avoid confusing details between jobs?
• Peer Review
  • How many of your job studies have been reviewed and validated by another expert?

Why This Matters

Every unchallenged VE assertion is a potential error in your client’s case. SSR 24-3p doesn’t just allow cross, it requires it. If you’re not pressing for specifics, you’re letting anecdote masquerade as evidence. That’s not advocacy; that’s abdication.

Bottom Line

Do the work. Prepare your cross. Challenge every unsupported claim. Your client’s benefits depend on it.

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of NOSSCR, its leadership, or staff.