How Will Social Security Disability Consider my Work History?

Social Security disability determinations depend heavily upon an individual’s work history, especially if an individual’s disabling condition does not meet or equal the disability criteria in
the Social Security disability handbook.

So now you’re wondering what your work has to do with a medical disability determination?

Social Security disability is not based entirely upon medical information. In fact, a very important factor of any disability claim is addressing whether an individual has the capacity to perform any of their past work (generally, any work activity which lasted for three months or more, and which has occurred within the last 15 years). Disability examiners do this by evaluating the limitations an individual’s disabling condition has imposed upon them. Once an individual’s limitations have been evaluated, the examiner determines the individual’s residual functional capacity. When an individual’s residual functional capacity is established, the examiner compares their residual capacity to the physical and mental demands of the jobs contained within the individual's work history (i.e. brick mason, carpenter, computer analyst, etc.).

Social Security disability examiners use medical vocational guidelines to determine if your limitations prevent you from performing your past work and if you are able to do other work. What are the medical vocational guidelines? Medical vocational guidelines were established by Social Security to provided uniformity to the Social Security disability decision process. These guidelines are more commonly known as the “The Grid”. The grid is based upon four components: age, education, maximum residual functional capacity, and previous work. Disability examiners basically plug in the pertinent information and the grid rules determine if an individual is disabled by the rules and regulations of Social Security disability.

Consequently, if the disability examiner determines that your residual functional capacity is so restrictive that you are unable to perform the physical or mental demands of your past work, and the vocational grid determines that you are unable to perform other work based on your age, education, residual functional capacity and previous work activity, your disability claim will be a medical vocational allowance. In other words, an approval.

Statistics indicate that medical vocation allowances make up a good portion of Social Security disability awards both at the initial and the administrative law judge hearing level. As you can see, Social Security not only considers your work history while making a disability determination, it is an integral part of the disability decision making process.





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