The Importance of The Dictionary of Occupational Titles in the Social Security Disability Process

As discussed in other articles, the Social Security Disability Process involves five sequential steps. Key to this process is vocational expert ("VE") testimony which is based upon the Dictionary of Occupational Titles ("DOT"). This article addresses the DOT.

At the Social Security Disability Hearing, the Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") uses VE testimony which itself is based upon the disability claimant's testimony and the DOT. The VE's testimony is key because the ALJ lacks the expertise to offer conclusions regarding the claimant's vocational abilities.Thus, VE testimony serves as the foundational building block of the Social Security disability determination hearing process. Without the VE testimony, a complete, accurate, and reasonable decision would not be possible. It is important for the disability claimant's attorney to understand how the VE is supporting his or her conclusions. Thus, it is important to understand the DOT.

The DOT is a publication of the U.S. Department of Labor that provides basic occupational information by classifying jobs into occupations based on their similarities and also defining the structure and content of all listed occupations. Interestingly, this source was last modified twenty-five years ago, and the latest edition, the Fourth Edition, of the DOT was last updated in 1991.

In addition, the United States Department of Commerce (U.S. Census Bureau) has replaced the DOT with the Standard Occupational Classification ("SOC"). Because the DOT is obsolete, a link no longer exists between Census Codes and the DOT, which means that no useful source of job information provides data for the titles in the DOT.

Furthermore, many jobs listed in the DOT no longer exist and many jobs that now exist are not yet listed in the archaic DOT. Nonetheless, a VE often attempts to categorize a claimant's previous work using a ratio of equivalencies to jobs listed.

Essentially, a VE must statistically break down the source data to estimate the number of jobs available in the appropriate categories of the DOT. This is a complicated endeavor, and if a VE has not received education or training in occupational analysis, then the VE's qualifications and testimony lack reliability.

The claimant additionally faces an uphill battle if the claimant wishes to challenge the reliability of the DOT because the SSA relies so heavily on the DOT and both the fourth and fifth steps of the sequential process are entwined with data found in the DOT.

To understand the intricate roles that the VE and the DOT play at the fourth and fifth steps, it is essential to have a solid understanding of these steps.