Opinion ID: 202313
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Occupational Requirements

Text: 31 Tsoulas claims that in assessing her job duties, Liberty improperly relied solely on a Department of Labor Description for Manager, Education and Training based on the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT). Under the Plan, 32 a. If the Covered Person is eligible for the Maximum Own Occupation Benefit,  Disability  or  Disabled  means during the Elimination Period and until the Covered Person reaches the end of the Maximum Benefit Period he is unable to perform all of the material and substantial duties of his occupation on an Active Employment basis because of an Injury or Sickness. 33 The DOT describes the position of Manager, Education and Training, as requiring light work, including lifting, carrying, occasional pushing or pulling of 20 pounds, frequent pushing or pulling of lesser weights, frequent reaching, and constant talking. Tsoulas asserts that in defining her occupation Liberty should have acquired a more accurate job description from Medaphis and conducted a more thorough investigation of the requirements of the position. However, Tsoulas bore the burden to provide evidence that [she] was unable to perform the duties of [her] occupation, and [a]n integral part of that evidence would be a statement of what [her] job required. Wright, 402 F.3d at 77. Furthermore, although Tsoulas claims that Liberty relied on the DOT description with only little information from her, the record reflects that Liberty actually contacted her directly for a description of her job duties. She indicated that her responsibilities included overseeing the department and hiring and firing staff, none of which is inconsistent with the DOT description. In this situation, we adopt the Fourth Circuit's reasoning that [a] general job description of the DOT, to be applicable, must involve comparable duties but not necessarily every duty. Gallagher v. Reliance Standard Life Ins. Co., 305 F.3d 264, 272 (4th Cir.2002). Tsoulas does not allege that any of her actual occupational requirements were not represented in the DOT description, nor does she identify which, if any, of her job responsibilities she was unable to perform. We find that Liberty did not err in relying on the DOT definition of Manager of Educational Services.