This week we break down the OASDI social security program and the outdated policy governing the review and adjudication of OASDI claims. Part of determining if someone is eligible for disability benefits is the “Other Work Test”. No big deal under normal circumstances, except that people are being denied based on the examiners using data that is at minimum 30 years out of date. Tune in while we talk about the issue and I make some recommendations on what policy changes could be made to better serve Americans. Feel free to comment if you have any suggestions and want to join the conversation. 

Sources:

National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Occupational Classification and Analysis. DICTIONARY OF OCCUPATIONAL TITLES (DOT): PART I – CURRENT POPULATION SURVEY, APRIL 1971, AUGMENTED WITH DOT CHARACTERISTICS, AND PART II – FOURTH EDITION DICTIONARY OF DOT SCORES FOR 1970 CENSUS CATEGORIES [Computer file]. Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census [producer], 197?. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1981.

Miller, Ann R., Trieman, Donald J., Cain, Pamela S. and Patricia A. Roos (eds.). 1980 WORK, JOBS, AND OCCUPATIONS: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE DICTIONARY OF OCCUPATIONAL TITLES (Final report to the U.S. Dept. of Labor from the Committee on Occupational Classification and Analysis). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

US Dept of Labor. (n.d.). Dictionary of occupational titles dot – job descriptions. Dictionary of Occupational Titles DOT – Job Descriptions. Retrieved December 28, 2022, from https://occupationalinfo.org/

Rein, L. (2022, December 28). Social Security denies disability benefits based on list with jobs from 1977. The Washington Post. Retrieved December 28, 2022, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/27/social-security-job-titles-disabled-applicants-obsolete/

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). A-Z index : Occupational Outlook Handbook. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved December 28, 2022, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/a-z-index.htm

Social Security Administration. Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2021. (2022, October). Retrieved December 29, 2022, from https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/di_asr/

Kearney, J. R. (2006, August 1). Social Security Administration. Social Security Administration Research, Statistics, and Policy Analysis. Retrieved December 29, 2022, from https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v66n3/v66n3p1.html

Legislative search results | congress.gov | library of Congress. Congress.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved December 31, 2022, from https://www.congress.gov/search