[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 2, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34478-34483]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-16692]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

Social Security Ruling SSR 96-9p., Titles II and XVI: Determining 
Capability To Do Other Work--Implications of a Residual Functional 
Capacity for Less Than a Full Range of Sedentary Work

AGENCY: Social Security Administration.

ACTION: Notice of Social Security Ruling.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with 20 CFR 422.406(b)(1), the Commissioner of 
Social Security gives notice of Social Security Ruling SSR 96-9p. This 
Ruling explains the Social Security Administration's policies regarding 
the impact of a residual functional capacity assessment for less than a 
full range of sedentary work on an individual's ability to do other 
work.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 2, 1996.


[[Page 34479]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joanne K. Castello, Division of 
Regulations and Rulings, Social Security Administration, 6401 Security 
Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235, (410) 965-1711.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Although we are not required to do so 
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(1) and (a)(2), we are publishing this 
Social Security Ruling in accordance with 20 CFR 422.406(b)(1).
    Social Security Rulings make available to the public precedential 
decisions relating to the Federal old-age, survivors, disability, 
supplemental security income, and black lung benefits programs. Social 
Security Rulings may be based on case decisions made at all 
administrative levels of adjudication, Federal court decisions, 
Commissioner's decisions, opinions of the Office of the General 
Counsel, and other policy interpretations of the law and regulations.
    Although Social Security Rulings do not have the force and effect 
of the law or regulations, they are binding on all components of the 
Social Security Administration, in accordance with 20 CFR 
422.406(b)(1), and are to be relied upon as precedents in adjudicating 
cases.
    If this Social Security Ruling is later superseded, modified, or 
rescinded, we will publish a notice in the Federal Register to that 
effect.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, Programs 96.001 Social 
Security--Disability Insurance; 96.002 Social Security--Retirement 
Insurance; 96.004 Social Security--Survivors Insurance; 96.005 
Special Benefits for Disabled Coal Miners; 96.006 Supplemental 
Security Income)

    Dated: June 7, 1996.
Shirley S. Chater,
Commissioner of Social Security.

Policy Interpretation Ruling--Titles II and XVI: Determining Capability 
To Do Other Work--Implications of a Residual Functional Capacity for 
Less Than a Full Range of Sedentary Work

    Purpose: To explain the Social Security Administration's policies 
regarding the impact of a residual functional capacity (RFC) assessment 
for less than a full range of sedentary work on an individual's ability 
to do other work. In particular, to emphasize that:
    1. An RFC for less than a full range of sedentary work reflects 
very serious limitations resulting from an individual's medical 
impairment(s) and is expected to be relatively rare.
    2. However, a finding that an individual has the ability to do less 
than a full range of sedentary work does not necessarily equate with a 
decision of ``disabled.'' If the performance of past relevant work is 
precluded by an RFC for less than the full range of sedentary work, 
consideration must still be given to whether there is other work in the 
national economy that the individual is able to do, considering age, 
education, and work experience.
    Citations (Authority): Sections 223(d) and 1614(a) of the Social 
Security Act (the Act), as amended; Regulations No. 4, sections 
404.1513(c), 404.1520, 404.1520a, 404.1545, 404.1546, 404.1560, 
404.1561, 404.1562, 404.1563 through 404.1567, 404.1569, 404.1569a; 
appendix 1 of subpart P, section 12.00; appendix 2 of subpart P, 
sections 200.00 and 201.00; Regulations No. 16, sections 416.913(c), 
416.920, 416.920a, 416.945, 416.946, 416.960, 416.961, 416.962, 416.963 
through 416.967, 416.969 and 416.969a.
    Introduction: Under the sequential evaluation process, once it has 
been determined that an individual is not engaging in substantial 
gainful activity and has a ``severe'' medically determinable 
impairment(s) which, though not meeting or equaling the criteria of any 
listing, prevents the individual from performing past relevant work 
(PRW), it must be determined whether the individual can do any other 
work, considering the individual's RFC, age, education, and work 
experience.
    RFC is what an individual can still do despite his or her 
functional limitations and restrictions caused by his or her medically 
determinable physical or mental impairments. It is an administrative 
assessment of the extent to which an individual's medically 
determinable impairment(s), including any related symptoms, such as 
pain, may cause physical or mental limitations or restrictions that may 
affect his or her capacity to perform work-related physical and mental 
activities. RFC is assessed by adjudicators at each level of the 
administrative review process based on all of the relevant evidence in 
the case record, including information about the individual's symptoms 
and any ``medical source statements''--i.e., opinions about what the 
individual can still do despite a severe impairment(s)--submitted by an 
individual's treating source(s) or other acceptable medical source.\1\
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    \1\ For a detailed discussion of the difference between the RFC 
assessment, which is an administrative finding of fact, and the 
opinion evidence called the ``medical source statement'' or ``MSS,'' 
see SSR 96-5p, ``Titles II and XVI: Medical Source Opinions on 
Issues Reserved to the Commissioner.''
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    RFC is the individual's maximum remaining ability to perform 
sustained work on a regular and continuing basis; i.e., 8 hours a day, 
for 5 days a week, or an equivalent work schedule. It is not the least 
an individual can do, but the most, based on all of the information in 
the case record. The RFC assessment considers only those limitations 
and restrictions that are caused by an individual's physical or mental 
impairments. It does not consider limitations or restrictions due to 
age or body habitus, since the Act requires that an individual's 
inability to work must result from the individual's physical or mental 
impairment(s). (See SSR 96-8p, ``Titles II and XVI: Assessing Residual 
Functional Capacity in Initial Claims.'')
    Initially, the RFC assessment is a function-by-function assessment 
based upon all of the relevant evidence of an individual's ability to 
perform work-related activities. This RFC assessment is first used for 
a function-by-function comparison with the functional demands of an 
individual's PRW as he or she actually performed it and then, if 
necessary, as the work is generally performed in the national 
economy.\2\
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    \2\ RFC may be expressed in terms of an exertional category, 
such as ``light,'' if it becomes necessary to assess whether an 
individual is able to perform past relevant work as it is generally 
performed in the national economy. However, without the initial 
function-by-function accounting of the individual's capacities, it 
may not be possible to determine whether the individual is able to 
perform past relevant work as it is generally performed in the 
national economy because particular occupations may not require all 
of the exertional and nonexertional demands necessary to perform the 
full range of work at a given exertional level. See SSR 96-8p, 
``Titles II and XVI: Assessing Residual Functional Capacity in 
Initial Claims.''
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    However, at the last step of the sequential evaluation process, the 
RFC assessment is used to determine an individual's ``maximum sustained 
work capability'' and, where solely non-exertional impairments are not 
involved, must be expressed in terms of the exertional classifications 
of work: sedentary, light, medium, heavy, and very heavy work. The 
rules of appendix 2 of subpart P of Regulations No. 4 take 
administrative notice of the existence of numerous unskilled 
occupations within each of these exertional levels. The rules are then 
used to direct decisions about whether an individual is disabled or, 
when the individual is unable to perform the full range of work 
contemplated by an exertional level(s), as a framework for 
decisionmaking considering the individual's RFC, age, education, and 
work experience.
    The impact of an RFC for less than a full range of sedentary work 
is especially critical for individuals who have not yet attained age 
50. Since age,

[[Page 34480]]

education, and work experience are not usually significant factors in 
limiting the ability of individuals under age 50 to make an adjustment 
to other work,\3\ the conclusion whether such individuals who are 
limited to less than the full range of sedentary work are disabled will 
depend primarily on the nature and extent of their functional 
limitations or restrictions. On the other hand, since the rules in 
Table No. 1 of appendix 2, ``Residual Functional Capacity: Maximum 
Sustained Work Capability Limited to Sedentary Work as a Result of 
Severe Medically Determinable Impairment(s),'' direct a decision of 
``disabled'' for individuals age 50 and over who are limited to a full 
range of sedentary work, unless the individual has transferable skills 
or education that provides for direct entry into skilled sedentary 
work, the impact of an RFC for less than the full range of sedentary 
work in such individuals is less critical.
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    \3\ However, ``younger individuals'' age 45-49 who are unable to 
communicate in English or who are illiterate in English and who are 
limited to even a full range of sedentary work must be found 
disabled under rule 201.17 in Table No. 1.
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    Policy Interpretation: Under the regulations, ``sedentary work'' 
represents a significantly restricted range of work. Individuals who 
are limited to no more than sedentary work by their medical impairments 
have very serious functional limitations. For the majority of 
individuals who are age 50 or older and who are limited to the full 
range of sedentary work by their medical impairments, the rules and 
guidelines in appendix 2 require a conclusion of ``disabled.''
    Nevertheless, the rules in Table No. 1 in appendix 2 take 
administrative notice that there are approximately 200 separate 
unskilled sedentary occupations, each representing numerous jobs, in 
the national economy.\4\ Therefore, even though ``sedentary work'' 
represents a significantly restricted range of work, this range in 
itself is not so prohibitively restricted as to negate work capability 
for substantial gainful activity in all individuals.
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    \4\ An ``occupation'' refers to a grouping of numerous 
individual ``jobs'' with similar duties. Within occupations (e.g., 
``carpenter'') there may be variations among jobs performed for 
different employers (e.g., ``rough carpenter'').
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    Moreover, since each occupation administratively noticed by Table 
No. 1 represents numerous jobs, the ability to do even a limited range 
of sedentary work does not in itself establish disability in all 
individuals, although a finding of ``disabled'' usually applies when 
the full range of sedentary work is significantly eroded (see Using the 
Rules in Table No. 1 as a Framework: ``Erosion'' of the Occupational 
Base below). In deciding whether an individual who is limited to a 
partial range of sedentary work is able to make an adjustment to work 
other than any PRW, the adjudicator is required to make an 
individualized determination, considering age, education, and work 
experience, including any skills the individual may have that are 
transferable to other work, or education that provides for direct entry 
into skilled work, under the rules and guidelines in the regulations.

Sedentary Work

    The ability to perform the full range of sedentary work requires 
the ability to lift no more than 10 pounds at a time and occasionally 
to lift or carry articles like docket files, ledgers, and small tools. 
Although a sedentary job is defined as one that involves sitting, a 
certain amount of walking and standing is often necessary in carrying 
out job duties. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required 
occasionally and other sedentary criteria are met. ``Occasionally'' 
means occurring from very little up to one-third of the time, and would 
generally total no more than about 2 hours of an 8-hour workday. 
Sitting would generally total about 6 hours of an 8-hour workday. 
Unskilled sedentary work also involves other activities, classified as 
``nonexertional,'' such as capacities for seeing, manipulation, and 
understanding, remembering, and carrying out simple instructions.

The Occupational Base for Sedentary Work

    The term ``occupational base'' means the approximate number of 
occupations that an individual has the RFC to perform considering all 
exertional and nonexertional limitations and restrictions. (See SSR 83-
10, ``Titles II and XVI: Determining Capability to Do Other Work--The 
Medical-Vocational Rules of Appendix 2'' (C.E. 1981-1985, p. 516).) A 
full range of sedentary work includes all or substantially all of the 
approximately 200 <SUP>5 unskilled sedentary occupations 
administratively noticed in Table No. 1.
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    \5\ The regulations specify that this is an approximation. The 
revised fourth edition of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles and 
its companion volumes (the DOT, 1991) lists 137 separate 
occupations. However, the introduction to Volume I explains that the 
fourth edition of the DOT (1977) ``substantially modified or 
combined with related definitions'' several thousand definitions 
from the third edition. In 1992, we published a notice in the 
Federal Register explaining that an analysis of the revised fourth 
edition of the DOT and available data for the then upcoming volume 
of the Selected Characteristics of Occupations Defined in the 
Revised Dictionary of Occupational Titles (SCO) showed ``that the 
range of work of which the medical-vocational rules take 
administrative notice continues to represent more occupations than 
would be required to represent significant numbers,'' and that ``we 
have received no significant data or other evidence to indicate that 
* * * the unskilled occupational base * * * has changed 
substantially.'' (See 57 FR 43005, September 17, 1992.) In February 
1996, contact with the North Carolina Occupational Analysis Field 
Center, the organization that compiles the data the Department of 
Labor uses in the SCO, confirmed that there are no precise updated 
data but that the regulatory estimate of approximately 200 sedentary 
unskilled occupations is still valid, because some of the 137 
occupations in the current edition of the DOT comprise more than one 
of the separate occupations of which we take administrative notice.
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    Thus, the RFC addressed by a particular rule in Table No. 1 
establishes an occupational base that at a minimum includes the full 
range of unskilled sedentary occupations administratively noticed. The 
base may be broadened by the addition of specific skilled or 
semiskilled occupations that an individual with an RFC limited to 
sedentary work can perform by reason of his or her education or work 
experience. However, if the individual has no transferable skills or no 
education or training that provides for direct entry into skilled work, 
the occupational base represented by the rules in Table No. 1 comprises 
only the sedentary unskilled occupations in the national economy that 
such an individual can perform.
    The rules in Table No. 1 direct conclusions as to disability where 
the findings of fact coincide with all of the criteria of a particular 
rule; i.e., RFC (a maximum sustained work capability for sedentary 
work) and the vocational factors of age, education, and work 
experience. In order for a rule in Table No. 1 to direct a conclusion 
of ``not disabled,'' the individual must be able to perform the full 
range of work administratively noticed by a rule. This means that the 
individual must be able to perform substantially all of the strength 
demands defining the sedentary level of exertion, as well as the 
physical and mental nonexertional demands that are also required for 
the performance of substantially all of the unskilled work considered 
at the sedentary level. Therefore, in order for a rule to direct a 
conclusion of ``not disabled,'' an individual must also have no 
impairment that restricts the nonexertional capabilities to a level 
below those needed to perform unskilled work, in this case, at the 
sedentary level.

[[Page 34481]]

Using the Rules in Table No. 1 as a Framework: ``Erosion'' of the 
Occupational Base

    Where any one of the findings of fact does not coincide with the 
corresponding criterion of a rule in Table No. 1 (except in those cases 
where the concept of borderline age applies <SUP>6), the rule does not 
direct a decision. In cases such as the following, the medical-
vocational rules must be used as a framework for considering the extent 
of any erosion of the sedentary occupational base:
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    \6\ See 20 CFR 404.1563(a) and 416.963(a) and SSR 83-10.
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    <bullet> Any one of an individual's exertional capacities is 
determined to be less than that required to perform a full range of 
sedentary work; or
    <bullet> Based on an individual's exertional capacities, a rule in 
Table No. 1 would direct a decision of ``not disabled,'' but the 
individual also has a nonexertional limitation(s) that narrows the 
potential range of sedentary work to which he or she might be able to 
adjust (i.e., the individual has the exertional capacity to do the full 
range of sedentary work, but the sedentary occupational base is reduced 
because of at least one nonexertional limitation).
    When there is a reduction in an individual's exertional or 
nonexertional capacity so that he or she is unable to perform 
substantially all of the occupations administratively noticed in Table 
No. 1, the individual will be unable to perform the full range of 
sedentary work: the occupational base will be ``eroded'' by the 
additional limitations or restrictions. However, the mere inability to 
perform substantially all sedentary unskilled occupations does not 
equate with a finding of disability. There may be a number of 
occupations from the approximately 200 occupations administratively 
noticed, and jobs that exist in significant numbers, that an individual 
may still be able to perform even with a sedentary occupational base 
that has been eroded.
    Whether the individual will be able to make an adjustment to other 
work requires adjudicative judgment regarding factors such as the type 
and extent of the individual's limitations or restrictions and the 
extent of the erosion of the occupational base; i.e., the impact of the 
limitations or restrictions on the number of sedentary unskilled 
occupations or the total number of jobs to which the individual may be 
able to adjust, considering his or her age, education, and work 
experience, including any transferable skills or education providing 
for direct entry into skilled work. Where there is more than a slight 
impact on the individual's ability to perform the full range of 
sedentary work, if the adjudicator finds that the individual is able to 
do other work, the adjudicator must cite examples of occupations or 
jobs the individual can do and provide a statement of the incidence of 
such work in the region where the individual resides or in several 
regions of the country.

Exertional and Nonexertional Limitations and Restrictions

    Exertional capacity addresses an individual's limitations and 
restrictions of physical strength and defines the individual's 
remaining ability to perform each of seven strength demands: Sitting, 
standing, walking, lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling. An 
exertional limitation is an impairment-caused limitation of any one of 
these activities.
    Nonexertional capacity considers any work-related limitations and 
restrictions that are not exertional. Therefore, a nonexertional 
limitation is an impairment-caused limitation affecting such capacities 
as mental abilities, vision, hearing, speech, climbing, balancing, 
stooping, kneeling, crouching, crawling, reaching, handling, fingering, 
and feeling. Environmental restrictions are also considered to be 
nonexertional.
    Thus, it is the nature of an individual's limitations and 
restrictions, not certain impairments or symptoms, that determines 
whether the individual will be found to have only exertional 
limitations or restrictions, only nonexertional limitations or 
restrictions, or a combination of exertional and nonexertional 
limitations or restrictions. For example, even though mental 
impairments often affect nonexertional functions, they may also limit 
exertional capacity affecting one of the seven strength demands; e.g., 
from fatigue or hysterical paralysis. Likewise, symptoms, including 
pain, are not intrinsically exertional or nonexertional; when a symptom 
causes a limitation in one of the seven strength demands, the 
limitation must be considered exertional. (See SSR 96-8p, ``Titles II 
and XVI: Assessing Residual Functional Capacity in Initial Claims.'')

Guidelines for Evaluating the Ability To Do Less Than a Full Range of 
Sedentary Work

    The following sections provide adjudicative guidance as to the 
impact of various RFC limitations and restrictions on the unskilled 
sedentary occupational base. The RFC assessment must include a 
narrative that shows the presence and degree of any specific 
limitations and restrictions, as well as an explanation of how the 
evidence in file was considered in the assessment. The individual's 
maximum remaining capacities to perform sustained work on a regular and 
continuing basis (what he or she can still do 8 hours a day, for 5 days 
a week, or an equivalent work schedule) must be stated.
    An accurate accounting of an individual's abilities, limitations, 
and restrictions is necessary to determine the extent of erosion of the 
occupational base, the types of sedentary occupations an individual 
might still be able to do, and whether it will be necessary to make use 
of a vocational resource. The RFC assessment must be sufficiently 
complete to allow an adjudicator to make an informed judgment regarding 
these issues.

Exertional Limitations and Restrictions

    Lifting/carrying and pushing/pulling: If an individual is unable to 
lift 10 pounds or occasionally lift and carry items like docket files, 
ledgers, and small tools throughout the workday, the unskilled 
sedentary occupational base will be eroded. The extent of erosion will 
depend on the extent of the limitations. For example, if it can be 
determined that the individual has an ability to lift or carry slightly 
less than 10 pounds, with no other limitations or restrictions in the 
ability to perform the requirements of sedentary work, the unskilled 
sedentary occupational base would not be significantly eroded; however, 
an inability to lift or carry more than 1 or 2 pounds would erode the 
unskilled sedentary occupational base significantly. For individuals 
with limitations in lifting or carrying weights between these amounts, 
consultation with a vocational resource may be appropriate.
    Limitations or restrictions on the ability to push or pull will 
generally have little effect on the unskilled sedentary occupational 
base.
    Standing and walking: The full range of sedentary work requires 
that an individual be able to stand and walk for a total of 
approximately 2 hours during an 8-hour workday. If an individual can 
stand and walk for a total of slightly less than 2 hours per 8-hour 
workday, this, by itself, would not cause the occupational base to be 
significantly eroded. Conversely, a limitation to standing and walking 
for a total of only a few minutes during the workday would erode the 
unskilled sedentary occupational base significantly. For individuals 
able to stand and walk in between the slightly less than 2 hours and 
only a few minutes, it may be

[[Page 34482]]

appropriate to consult a vocational resource.
    Sitting: In order to perform a full range of sedentary work, an 
individual must be able to remain in a seated position for 
approximately 6 hours of an 8-hour workday, with a morning break, a 
lunch period, and an afternoon break at approximately 2-hour intervals. 
If an individual is unable to sit for a total of 6 hours in an 8-hour 
work day, the unskilled sedentary occupational base will be eroded. The 
extent of the limitation should be considered in determining whether 
the individual has the ability to make an adjustment to other work. See 
Alternate sitting and standing below.
    The fact that an individual cannot do the sitting required to 
perform the full range of sedentary work does not necessarily mean that 
he or she cannot perform other work at a higher exertional level. In 
unusual cases, some individuals will be able to stand and walk longer 
than they are able to sit. If an individual is able to stand and walk 
for approximately 6 hours in an 8-hour workday (and meets the other 
requirements for light work), there may be a significant number of 
light jobs in the national economy that he or she can do even if there 
are not a significant number of sedentary jobs.
    Alternate sitting and standing: An individual may need to alternate 
the required sitting of sedentary work by standing (and, possibly, 
walking) periodically. Where this need cannot be accommodated by 
scheduled breaks and a lunch period, the occupational base for a full 
range of unskilled sedentary work will be eroded. The extent of the 
erosion will depend on the facts in the case record, such as the 
frequency of the need to alternate sitting and standing and the length 
of time needed to stand. The RFC assessment must be specific as to the 
frequency of the individual's need to alternate sitting and standing. 
It may be especially useful in these situations to consult a vocational 
resource in order to determine whether the individual is able to make 
an adjustment to other work.
    Medically required hand-held assistive device: To find that a hand-
held assistive device is medically required, there must be medical 
documentation establishing the need for a hand-held assistive device to 
aid in walking or standing, and describing the circumstances for which 
it is needed (i.e., whether all the time, periodically, or only in 
certain situations; distance and terrain; and any other relevant 
information). The adjudicator must always consider the particular facts 
of a case. For example, if a medically required hand-held assistive 
device is needed only for prolonged ambulation, walking on uneven 
terrain, or ascending or descending slopes, the unskilled sedentary 
occupational base will not ordinarily be significantly eroded.
    Since most unskilled sedentary work requires only occasional 
lifting and carrying of light objects such as ledgers and files and a 
maximum lifting capacity for only 10 pounds, an individual who uses a 
medically required hand-held assistive device in one hand may still 
have the ability to perform the minimal lifting and carrying 
requirements of many sedentary unskilled occupations with the other 
hand.<SUP>7 For example, an individual who must use a hand-held 
assistive device to aid in walking or standing because of an impairment 
that affects one lower extremity (e.g., an unstable knee), or to reduce 
pain when walking, who is limited to sedentary work because of the 
impairment affecting the lower extremity, and who has no other 
functional limitations or restrictions may still have the ability to 
make an adjustment to sedentary work that exists in significant 
numbers. On the other hand, the occupational base for an individual who 
must use such a device for balance because of significant involvement 
of both lower extremities (e.g., because of a neurological impairment) 
may be significantly eroded.
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    \7\ Bilateral manual dexterity is needed when sitting but is not 
generally necessary when performing the standing and walking 
requirements of sedentary work.
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    In these situations, too, it may be especially useful to consult a 
vocational resource in order to make a judgment regarding the 
individual's ability to make an adjustment to other work.

Nonexertional Limitations and Restrictions

    Postural limitations: Postural limitations or restrictions related 
to such activities as climbing ladders, ropes, or scaffolds, balancing, 
kneeling, crouching, or crawling would not usually erode the 
occupational base for a full range of unskilled sedentary work 
significantly because those activities are not usually required in 
sedentary work. In the SCO, ``balancing'' means maintaining body 
equilibrium to prevent falling when walking, standing, crouching, or 
running on narrow, slippery, or erratically moving surfaces. If an 
individual is limited in balancing only on narrow, slippery, or 
erratically moving surfaces, this would not, by itself, result in a 
significant erosion of the unskilled sedentary occupational base. 
However, if an individual is limited in balancing even when standing or 
walking on level terrain, there may be a significant erosion of the 
unskilled sedentary occupational base. It is important to state in the 
RFC assessment what is meant by limited balancing in order to determine 
the remaining occupational base. Consultation with a vocational 
resource may be appropriate in some cases.
    An ability to stoop occasionally; i.e., from very little up to one-
third of the time, is required in most unskilled sedentary occupations. 
A complete inability to stoop would significantly erode the unskilled 
sedentary occupational base and a finding that the individual is 
disabled would usually apply, but restriction to occasional stooping 
should, by itself, only minimally erode the unskilled occupational base 
of sedentary work. Consultation with a vocational resource may be 
particularly useful for cases where the individual is limited to less 
than occasional stooping.
    Manipulative limitations: Most unskilled sedentary jobs require 
good use of both hands and the fingers; i.e., bilateral manual 
dexterity. Fine movements of small objects require use of the fingers; 
e.g., to pick or pinch. Most unskilled sedentary jobs require good use 
of the hands and fingers for repetitive hand-finger actions.
    Any significant manipulative limitation of an individual's ability 
to handle and work with small objects with both hands will result in a 
significant erosion of the unskilled sedentary occupational base. For 
example, example 1 in section 201.00(h) of appendix 2, describes an 
individual who has an impairment that prevents the performance of any 
sedentary occupations that require bilateral manual dexterity (i.e., 
``limits the individual to sedentary jobs which do not require 
bilateral manual dexterity''). When the limitation is less significant, 
especially if the limitation is in the non-dominant hand, it may be 
useful to consult a vocational resource.
    The ability to feel the size, shape, temperature, or texture of an 
object by the fingertips is a function required in very few jobs and 
impairment of this ability would not, by itself, significantly erode 
the unskilled sedentary occupational base.
    Visual limitations or restrictions: Most sedentary unskilled 
occupations require working with small objects. If a visual limitation 
prevents an individual from seeing the small objects involved in most 
sedentary unskilled work, or if an individual is not able to avoid 
ordinary hazards in the workplace, such as boxes

[[Page 34483]]

on the floor, doors ajar, or approaching people or vehicles, there will 
be a significant erosion of the sedentary occupational base. These 
cases may require the use of vocational resources.
    Communicative limitations: Basic communication is all that is 
needed to do unskilled work. The ability to hear and understand simple 
oral instructions or to communicate simple information is sufficient. 
If the individual retains these basic communication abilities, the 
unskilled sedentary occupational base would not be significantly eroded 
in these areas.
    Environmental restrictions: An ``environmental restriction'' is an 
impairment-caused need to avoid an environmental condition in a 
workplace. Definitions for various workplace environmental conditions 
are found in the SCO; e.g., ``extreme cold'' is exposure to nonweather-
related cold temperatures.
    In general, few occupations in the unskilled sedentary occupational 
base require work in environments with extreme cold, extreme heat, 
wetness, humidity, vibration, or unusual hazards. The ``hazards'' 
defined in the SCO are considered unusual in unskilled sedentary work. 
They include: moving mechanical parts of equipment, tools, or 
machinery; electrical shock; working in high, exposed places; exposure 
to radiation; working with explosives; and exposure to toxic, caustic 
chemicals. Even a need to avoid all exposure to these conditions would 
not, by itself, result in a significant erosion of the occupational 
base.
    Since all work environments entail some level of noise, 
restrictions on the ability to work in a noisy workplace must be 
evaluated on an individual basis. The unskilled sedentary occupational 
base may or may not be significantly eroded depending on the facts in 
the case record. In such cases, it may be especially useful to consult 
a vocational resource.
    Restrictions to avoid exposure to odors or dust must also be 
evaluated on an individual basis. The RFC assessment must specify which 
environments are restricted and state the extent of the restriction; 
e.g., whether only excessive or even small amounts of dust must be 
avoided.
    Mental limitations or restrictions: A substantial loss of ability 
to meet any one of several basic work-related activities on a sustained 
basis (i.e., 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, or an equivalent work 
schedule), will substantially erode the unskilled sedentary 
occupational base and would justify a finding of disability. These 
mental activities are generally required by competitive, remunerative, 
unskilled work:
    <bullet> Understanding, remembering, and carrying out simple 
instructions.
    <bullet> Making judgments that are commensurate with the functions 
of unskilled work--i.e., simple work-related decisions.
    <bullet> Responding appropriately to supervision, co-workers and 
usual work situations.
    <bullet> Dealing with changes in a routine work setting.
    A less than substantial loss of ability to perform any of the above 
basic work activities may or may not significantly erode the unskilled 
sedentary occupational base. The individual's remaining capacities must 
be assessed and a judgment made as to their effects on the unskilled 
occupational base considering the other vocational factors of age, 
education, and work experience. When an individual has been found to 
have a limited ability in one or more of these basic work activities, 
it may be useful to consult a vocational resource.

Use of Vocational Resources

    When the extent of erosion of the unskilled sedentary occupational 
base is not clear, the adjudicator may consult various authoritative 
written resources, such as the DOT, the SCO, the Occupational Outlook 
Handbook, or County Business Patterns.
    In more complex cases, the adjudicator may use the resources of a 
vocational specialist or vocational expert.<SUP>8 The vocational 
resource may be asked to provide any or all of the following: An 
analysis of the impact of the RFC upon the full range of sedentary 
work, which the adjudicator may consider in determining the extent of 
the erosion of the occupational base, examples of occupations the 
individual may be able to perform, and citations of the existence and 
number of jobs in such occupations in the national economy.
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    \8\ At the hearings and appeals levels, vocational experts (VEs) 
are vocational professionals who provide impartial expert opinion 
during the hearings and appeals process either by testifying or by 
providing written responses to interrogatories. A VE may be used 
before, during, or after a hearing. Whenever a VE is used, the 
individual has the right to review and respond to the VE evidence 
prior to the issuance of a decision. The VE's opinion is not binding 
on an adjudicator, but must be weighed along with all other 
evidence.
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    Effective Date: This Ruling is effective on the date of its 
publication in the Federal Register.
    Cross-References: SSR 86-8, ``Titles II and XVI: The Sequential 
Evaluation Process'' (C.E. 1986, p. 78), SSR 83-10, ``Titles II and 
XVI: Determining Capability to Do Other Work--The Medical-Vocational 
Rules of Appendix 2'' (C.E. 1981-1985, p. 516), SSR 83-12, ``Titles II 
and XVI: Capability to Do Other Work--The Medical-Vocational Rules as a 
Framework for Evaluating Exertional Limitations Within a Range of Work 
or Between Ranges of Work'' (C.E. 1981-1985, p. 529), SSR 83-14, 
``Titles II and XVI: Capability to Do Other Work--The Medical-
Vocational Rules as a Framework for Evaluating a Combination of 
Exertional and Nonexertional Impairments'' (C.E. 1981-1985, p. 535), 
SSR 85-15, ``Titles II and XVI: Capability to Do Other Work--The 
Medical-Vocational Rules as a Framework for Evaluating Solely 
Nonexertional Impairments'' (C.E. 1981-1985, p. 543), SSR-96 8p, 
``Titles II and XVI: Assessing Residual Functional Capacity in Initial 
Claims;'' Program Operations Manual System, sections DI 24510.001, DI 
24510.005, DI 24510.010, DI 24510.050, DI 24515.061, DI 25001.001, DI 
25010.001, DI 25020.005, DI 25020.010, DI 25020.015, DI 25025.001 and 
DI 28005.015; and Hearings, Appeals, and Litigation Law Manual, 
sections I-2-548 and I-2-550.

[FR Doc. 96-16692 Filed 7-01-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4190-29-P