Presenters: Eric Farr and Matthew Richter

State agency consultants churn out psychological determinations with boilerplate language using a few key phrases. These phrases typically refer to “occasional,” “superficial, and “brief” interactions. While ALJs would love to treat these terms as interchangeable, “brief” and “superficial” interactions are more likely to produce work-preclusive testimony from a VE, in contrast to “occasional.” And district courts within the 7th Circuit, with one exception, have acknowledged this distinction and repeatedly ordered remands for new hearings where the ALJs failed to pay attention to the distinct meanings of these terms. This presentation will go over these three terms, how they typically impact VE testimony, and how courts in the 7th Circuit have responded to this issue. Hopefully, this will be of benefit to both new and experienced practitioners, to ensure that the opportunity for potentially winning testimony, and a strong appeal issue if needed, is not overlooked.