Opinion ID: 772698
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Heston's Hearing Before the ALJ

Text: 24 On April 28, 1997, Heston testified before the ALJ and a vocational expert about her medical history and daily activities. Heston testified that, as an employee of Tyson Dry Cleaners, she had served as a presser and dry cleaner, and had operated the cash register. (Id. at 38-40). She said that she suffered from bronchitis between six and seven times a year, and that she had spells of pancreatitis depending upon fluctuations in her diet. (Id. at 41-43). She described having arthritis pain in her hips and ankles during bad weather and when standing on cement. (Id. at 45-47). Heston stated that her breathing problems had worsened since 1994. (Id. at 47). 25 Heston told the ALJ that she could walk for one block before puffing and could sit for twenty to thirty minutes without interruption. (Id. at 48). She stated that she didn't want to lift more than ten to fifteen pounds. (Id.). Around the house, Heston stated that she loads the dishwasher, sweeps with a vacuum cleaner, does laundry in her washer and dryer, goes grocery shopping, and makes her bed. (Id. at 49). She also rides an exercise bicycle, on the zero setting, for five to ten minutes, not quite every day to help her arthritis. (Id. at 50-51). 26 During the hearing, a vocational expert briefly evaluated Heston's employment history. The expert classified Heston's work as a dry cleaning counter clerk as light and semiskilled, her work as a clothes presser as light and unskilled, and her work as a dry cleaner as medium and semiskilled. (Id. at 59). The ALJ proposed a hypothetical set of work limitations to the vocational expert for evaluation. The ALJ described the hypothetical person as possessing: a lifting limit of thirty pounds, alternating positions, not climbing, crouching, kneeling, crawling. Not working at heights with moving machinery. With a clean environment and no temperature extremes. (Id. at 60). 27 Based on the hypothetical, the expert stated that there were approximately 3,600 jobs in the Dayton/Cincinnati area that a person with those restrictions could perform, including rental clerk, photocopying machine operator, and marker. (Id. at 60-61). The ALJ then asked if the variable of a thirty-pound lifting limitation significantlyextended the hypothetical individual's job opportunities. The expert responded that she had only considered a lifting limitation of twenty-five pounds, but that a thirty-pound limitation would extend the individual's range of potential jobs. (Id. at 61-62).