I had an in-person hearing at the Portland Hearing office last week, on September 10th. When I signed in, I noticed that no one had signed in to the hearing office since August 22nd, 3 weeks before. Sign-ins before that…

One of the most frequent limitations assessed by Social Security due to a claimant’s mental health symptoms is a limitation to simple tasks. That limitation alone is not disabling, by any means. But it can have a significant effect on…

I just signed up a new client who was initially denied disability benefits at step 4 of the sequential evaluation, based upon a job he last performed in 2016.

It is often an issue in a disability claim when…

If you have worked at the SGA level at any time since the alleged onset date of your Social Security disability claim, it can be problematic for your claim. You must have (or expect to have) a 12-month period of disability to…

Social Security uses a 5-step sequential evaluation to determine disability. Step 4 comprises your ability to perform your past relevant work (PRW), both as actually performed by you, and as generally performed in the national economy.

There are a number…

In view of the seismic rule change reducing the past relevant work period to 5 years, and new Ruling 24-2p, it is a good time to review the various issues involved with past relevant work (PRW).

At Step 4 of…

If you have a claimant awaiting at the hearing level who was denied benefits by DDS at Step 4 due to the ability to perform a past job, and that job was last performed more than 5 years ago, that…