April 5, 2008
Episode 22: Can Social Security Force Me to Take a Less Demanding Job?
Here is a question I received from a woman named Phyllis who sent me the following email:
IF YOU HAVE WORKED AS A PROFESSIONAL NURSE FOR PAST 25 YEARS AND CAN NO LONGER DO THE JOB AS A NURSE DUE TO DISABILITY, CAN SOCIAL SECURITY REQUIRE YOU TO WORK AS A NON-PROFESSIONAL WITH ALOT LESS PAY DOING SOMETHING TOTALLY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT YOUR WERE TRAINED TO DO ? IF THE ANSWER IS YES, DO THEY ASSIST YOU IN FINDING ADEQUATE EMPLOYMENT IN YOUR COMMUNITY WHERE YOU LIVE.
In the podcast, I make note of the following:
- In evaluating your case, Social Security is asking whether there is work out there that you could do, within Social Security's regulatory framework. If you are successful in proving that you cannot work, you win; if the judge concludes that you can work, you lose.
- Social Security cannot force you to take a job. Similarly, Social Security will not find you a job – they are not an employment agency.
- Social Security will ask whether you have transferrable skills from past work. If so, they will ask whether skills you may have obtained working could transfer to an easier job
- Generally, I approach most cases with the mindset that I need to prove that my client would not be a reliable, dependable worker in any job setting.
- You can read more at my Social Security disability blog about how Social Security classifies jobs based on exertional capacity and based on skill level.
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Jonathan Ginsberg
Comments on Episode 22: Can Social Security Force Me to Take a Less Demanding Job?
i am going to a social security doctor for a physical exam, when my chief complaint is my neurogenic bladder and severe headaches. How am I going to prove to them that i need a very sterile place to self cath 4-5 times a day meaning i have to cut open the catherder, sterlize my hands and lubricate the cath, then insert and void my bladder. What do you recommend because i have no physical imparments other than my sensory nevrves dont trigger the urination senses for me to empty–thank you
David, the doctor will not make any decisions regarding your case. His report, however, could affect the decision making. When you speak to the Social Security doctor, be very specific in describing the exact amount of time it takes you to run through the sterilization procedure. If you have documentation from your doctor about this procedure bring it. Doctors, especially doctors seeing you on a one time basis for a consultation, are usually not going to criticize or delegitimize the instructions provided you by a treating physician. If the consultative doctor reports that you have this need (20 to 25 minute unscheduled break four to five times per day), there should be no basis to deny your case.