The U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld the Social Security
Administration’s method of determining whether an employee
is disabled under the Social Security Act.
After an elevator operator’s job was eliminated and the
operator applied to the SSA for disability benefits, the
SSA denied benefits because an administrative law judge
did not find the operator “disabled” finding instead
that her medical condition did not prevent her from
operating an elevator.
However, the ALJ reached that conclusion without determining
whether that particular kind of work existed in significant
numbers in the national economy. The operator appealed, a
federal trial court affirmed, but the United States Court
of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed. Finding that
various federal circuits disagreed, the Supreme Court
granted a hearing to determine whether the SSA’s methods
were reasonable.
Below are some details of the decision.
The SSA employs a five step test to determine whether an
employee is disabled under the Social Security Act: first,
the agency determines whether the employee is engaged in a
gainful activity; second, the employee must demonstrate a
severe impairment to work; third, the agency compares the
impairment to a list of impairments the agency maintains
that are presumptively disabling; fourth, if the employee’s
condition is not on the list, SSA determines whether the
employee can do the same work the employee could perform
before the condition arose, and fifth, if the employee
survives the forth step, the SSA will look to see whether
the employee is capable of performing other jobs existing
in significant numbers in the national economy.
The high court held that SSA, as it did in this case, may
stop at step four in a disability determination. If an
employee is still able to do the work the employee did
prior to the development of the employee’s medical
condition, the SSA is not required to look to the national
economy, and may find an employee not disabled, the court
found.
Barnhart v. Thomas, No. 02-763, November 12, 2003 – Get Document