Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 12:12 pm Post subject: More stuff on longstanding grid policy
See below for some internal stuff about what rules to use for vocational profiles marked by:
1. illiteracy or inability to communication in English and
2. skilled or semiskilled work experience that does not leave transferable skills.
This is not new. It's all in the same regs cited in the quoted material. Some of quoted material in fact cribs its language from the regs. (My guess is that the intended audience will never know this.)
All this is about what are sometimes seen as holes in the grids. If memory serves, SSA has proposed amending the regs to include language that more directly addresses the issue. Meanwhile, the SSA policy is essentially that there ain't no holes. I can dig up the FR sites for NPRM if anyone asks. But ask quickly. Otherwise, you'll have to wait for a week.
I am withholding the source of the quoted material. I am also withholding the reasons why I have chosen to withhold the source.
Quote:
Illiteracy or inability to communicate in English is an educational factor and must be considered in determining what work, if any, a claimant can perform. Because English is the dominant language in the U.S., the education category of illiterate or unable to communicate in English is used instead of education levels in formal schooling regardless of the amount of education the person may have in another language. A claimant’s fluency in non-English languages is immaterial in determining the claimant’s ability to do other work. § § 404.1564(b)(5) 416.964(b)(5)
A claimant’s inability to communicate in English also impacts the transferability of any skills acquired in a language other than English. If a claimant has acquired skills through past work, we consider him or her to have these work skills unless he or she cannot use them in other skilled or semi-skilled work that he or she can now do. If a claimant has skilled or semiskilled work experience but cannot use the skills in other work (i.e., the skills are not transferable to other work), the ability to adjust to other work is no greater than if he or she had only unskilled work experience (§ § 404.1565 404.965).
When applying the medical vocational rules in such cases, the rule with the lowest educational category should be cited as framework in the determination rather than the one matching the previous work experience:
• Rules 201.17, 202.09 and 203.01 direct a finding of disabled if the claimant is illiterate or unable to communicate in English.
• Rule 201.17 – Use as a framework in determining a case for a younger individual, aged 45 to 49, with a sedentary RFC, who is illiterate or unable to communicate in English and whose past work experience is skilled or semiskilled but who has no transferable skills (instead of rule 201.19).
• Rule 202.09 – Use as a framework in determining a case for an individual closely approaching advanced age with a light RFC, who is illiterate or unable to communicate in English and whose past work experience is skilled or semiskilled but who has no transferable skills (instead of rule 202.11).
• Rule 203.01 – Use as a framework in determining a case for an individual closely approaching retirement age with a medium RFC, who is illiterate or unable to communicate in English and whose past work experience is skilled or semiskilled but who has no transferable skills (instead of rule 203.04).
• Rule 204.00 – Use this rule as a framework for an individual who is illiterate or unable to communicate in English and who has only nonexertional limitations.
_________________ I've posted this in my private capacity. What I post might be wrong. Probably, it IS wrong. Any errors are my own. Please don't infer any SSA approval for what I post.
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