Tom Krause, NOSSCR Litigation Director

Several recent articles[1] in The NOSSCR Forum have addressed SSA’s reliance on isolated and obsolete jobs. Given the ongoing importance of this issue to our members and your claimants, we were pleased to see SSA release the following Emergency Messages (EMs) on Saturday, June 22, 2024, relating to isolated and obsolete jobs:

• EM-24026: Isolated Occupations We Will Not Use to Support a “Not Disabled” Finding at Step Five of the Sequential Evaluation Process

• EM 24027: Guidance Regarding the Citation of Certain Occupations at Step Five of the Sequential Evaluation Process

The two EMs share several characteristics. Both messages emphasize the need for substantial and reliable evidence to support a “not disabled” determination when using the medical-vocational guidelines (20 CFR Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 2) as a framework. Both EMs discuss the use of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) and the Selected Characteristics of Occupations Defined in the Revised Dictionary of Occupational Titles (SCO) as standard sources of occupational information. Finally, both messages acknowledge court decisions questioning the validity of certain occupational data.

NOSSCR encourages members to review their cases, especially cases at the Appeals Council and in federal court, to ensure SSA is not relying on these jobs inappropriately.

EM-24026 lists 114 Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) occupations classified as “isolated.”[2] Many of the jobs listed are highly skilled and SSA seldom relies on most of them. These occupations exist only in limited numbers and in a few locations outside the individual’s region, per 20 CFR 404.1566(b) and 416.966(b). EM-24026 instructs adjudicators not to cite these jobs when determining disability. However, this EM does not apply to an individual’s ability to perform past relevant work.

SSA developed this EM using 2020-2022 federal employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program. By analyzing employment data from the nine U.S. Census Divisions, 35 SOC occupations with fewer than 1,000 employees per division were identified, leading to the identification of 114 corresponding DOT occupations as isolated.

EM-24027 notes that multiple courts have questioned SSA’s reliance on 13 specific Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) occupations. These jobs include, for example, some of the “usual suspects,” such as Addresser; Document Preparer, Microfilming; Cutter-and-Paster, Press Clippings; Tube Operator;

Surveillance-System Monitor; and Host/Hostess, Dance Hall. SSA added several jobs to the list, such as Silver Wrapper; Host/Hostess, Head; Almond Blancher, Hand; Nut Sorter; Magnetic-Tape Winder; Puller-Through (for making gloves); and Microfilm Processor.

According to Social Security Ruling (SSR) 00-4p, when there is an apparent conflict between vocational expert (VE) or vocational specialist (VS) evidence and the DOT, adjudicators must obtain a reasonable explanation for the conflict and detail its resolution in their determination or decision. Conflicts may arise, for example, from outdated descriptions in the DOT compared to modern job practices. To allay the concerns of courts and others, SSA prohibits adjudicators from citing these 13 DOT jobs to support a “not disabled” determination without additional evidence from a VS or VE. The additional evidence must demonstrate that the job:

• Matches the individual’s RFC requirements, and
• Exists in the national economy in significant numbers, either alone or in combination with other cited occupations.

The determination or decision must include or summarize the supporting evidence from the VS or VE before relying on these jobs.

There are several more subtle aspects to these EMs. We believe these EMs are the first agency recognition of the Occupational Requirements Survey (ORS) as providing up-to-date and reliable vocational information. As a result, the EMs undercut ALJ decisions rejecting ORS and strengthen claims on appeals that rely on the ORS. In addition, SSA appears to concede that 1,000 jobs in a multi-state region is a cutoff for a significant number of jobs.[3] While SSA does not require VEs to testify to the number of jobs in the claimant’s region or several regions of the country, SSA looked at regional numbers in determining these jobs are isolated.

While the two EMs are a step forward, there are limits to their usefulness. The 114 jobs listed in EM-24026 are not commonly cited (e.g., Director, State-Historical Society; Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon; and Dramatic Arts Historian). Most of the jobs in EM-24027, such as Addresser (addressing envelopes by hand or using a typewriter) and Tube Operator (using a pneumatic tube system) are barely recognizable today.

The EMs also fail to address other jobs that are isolated or obsolete (or both). For example, vocational experts and state agencies continue to cite these jobs:

• Page, DOT No. 353.367-022
  • Conducts visitors on tours of radio and television station facilities and explains duties of staff, operation of equipment, and methods of broadcasting.

• Clocker (amusement & recreation), DOT No. 153.367-010
  • Clocks (times) racehorses at racetrack during morning workouts to obtain speed information: Identifies each horse on track by its particular identifying marks and color, and records name.

• Pan Greaser, Machine (bakery products), DOT No. 526.685-034
  • Tends machine that automatically coats inside surfaces of baking pans with grease.

• Core Extruder (electrical equipment), DOT No. 557.685-010
  • Tends manually operated extrusion press and wirecutter that extrudes and cuts paste (black mix) to form dry-cell battery cores.

• Conveyor Loader II (meat processing), DOT No. 525.686.014
  • Guides dehaired hogs from stationary rail to moving chain conveyor.

NOSSCR appreciates these two steps forward. The two new EMs, however, do not address all the isolated and obsolete jobs in the DOT. And, most importantly, the new EMs do not address the fundamental need for a new vocational platform based on the up-to-date and reliable information in the ORS. We look forward to the day SSA moves into the 21st century and relies on the ORS for vocational determinations and decisions.

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[1] S. Persaud, “Are 30,000 people still using this flash cube? Thankfully the Eastern District of New York says ‘NO,’” NOSSCR Forum (Apr. 2024); T. Krause, “Vocational Determinations and the State Agency: The DOT is Not Just a Problem at the Hearing Level,” NOSSCR Forum (Apr. 2024); T. Krause, “Update on Obsolete Jobs (Again),” NOSSCR Forum (Feb. 2024).

[2] At the end of this article is a chart listing all 126 occupations identified in these two EMs. You can download, search, sort, and filter the chart. The chart also identifies the EM and the effect of the EM (i.e., the adjudicator cannot cite the occupation or additional vocational information is required).

[3] For more information about the importance of developing regional job numbers, be sure to attend our upcoming CLE on this very subject—July 19^th at 3pm—register now!

View a PDF of the jobs below: