Opinion ID: 430492
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Failure to respond to uncontroverted evidence.

Text: 26 The ALJ's failure to consider all of the relevant factors is exacerbated by the fact that the record contains uncontroverted evidence in petitioner's favor relevant to the wage-earning capacity issue. Although administrative law judges are not bound by uncontroverted testimony on the record, it is generally understood that an ALJ must expressly state clear and convincing reasons for rejecting the uncontroverted evidence. Day v. Weinberger, 522 F.2d 1154, 1156 (9th Cir.1975). See also NLRB v. Cutting, Inc., 701 F.2d 659, 663, 668 (7th Cir.1983) (ALJ finding in opposition to uncontroverted testimony is not entitled to the ordinary presumption of correctness and may be upheld only if the ALJ provides good reasons for rejecting the testimony and fully explains those reasons in light of the evidence. In light of    the ALJ's failure to account for all the relevant evidence, we cannot conclude that his findings were based on evidence such 'as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.' ) (citations omitted); Midwest Stock Exchange, Inc. v. NLRB, 635 F.2d 1255, 1261 (7th Cir.1980); White Glove Building Maintenance, Inc. v. Brennan, 518 F.2d 1271, 1276 (9th Cir.1975). The ALJ's opinion contains no justification for ignoring the uncontroverted testimony presented by petitioner. In fact, the ALJ included several of petitioner's uncontroverted claims in the statement of facts contained in the decision and order, only to ignore them upon rendering a decision. 11 See, e.g., Director, OWCP v. Nat'l Van Lines, Inc., supra, 613 F.2d at 985 (deference to Benefits Review Board decision made difficult by the failure of the Board to explain how its conclusion follows from its statement of the facts). 27 The record contains uncontroverted evidence, including testimony from respondents' expert witness, that persons suffering petitioner's injury should not lift more than 30 to 40 pounds. Record at 88 (March 3, 1980). Yet normal sheet metal work requires sustained lifting of 60 to 80 pounds. Id. at 19 (February 19, 1980). The record also contains the uncontroverted testimony of petitioner that the jobs he has worked on since his injury were time and materials jobs, that his employers have given him light work, and that his fellow employees have helped him. Id. at 33, 34, 36, 47-49. None of this evidence is discounted in the ALJ's opinion. The ALJ appears to consider the evidence irrelevant, finding that claimant's ability to obtain work which involves sheet metal work other than air balancing belies his claim that such work is unavailable. ALJ Decision at 6, App. 24. Implicit in the ALJ's reasoning is an assumption that the diminution of petitioner's ability to perform his pre-injury employment must reach an undefined level of significance before it is compensable. Otherwise there would be no justification for ignoring the uncontroverted evidence of petitioner's inability to perform as he did before the injury--e.g., ability to lift sheet metal without the aid of co-workers. This implicit threshold imposed in the ALJ's analysis is inconsistent with the Act. Under the Act any reduction in wage-earning capacity greater than zero is compensable. This is evidenced by the Act's focus on the employee's efforts rather than on the wages earned. The Benefits Review Board has held that a claimant who is able to earn wages after injury comparable to pre-injury earnings only by expending more time and effort should be compensated. Devillier v. Nat'l Steel & Shipbuilding Co., supra, 10 BEN.REV.BD.SERV. (MB) at 658. Similarly, petitioner's uncontroverted testimony that he is unable to work as quickly now as before the accident, and that he requires the help of co-workers to do what he could do by himself before, appears to satisfy this increased effort test in the absence of some justification for discounting petitioner's testimony. 28 The Act's focus on any reduction in wage-earning capacity is also evidenced by its emphasis on probable work injury related wage loss in the future. Hughes v. Litton Systems, Inc., supra, 6 BEN.REV.BD.SERV. (MB) at 304. As noted above, the Act is designed to compensate for any injury-related reduction in wage-earning capacity through the claimant's lifetime. See 2 A. LARSON, supra, Sec. 57.21, at 10-74 to 10-76. This reduction in lifetime earnings can be caused by longer interim periods of unemployment resulting from the relative undesirability of hiring a disabled worker as well as by the lower hourly wage rate that a disabled employee might receive in a perfectly competitive labor market. The ALJ's opinion gives inadequate treatment to uncontroverted facts on the record which suggest that petitioner may suffer such wage loss. The ALJ simply stated that [petitioner] is perfectly capable of performing as an air balancing specialist. ALJ Decision at 5, App. 23. However, this finding overlooks the realities of the sheet metal trade. The record establishes that there are only 15 to 25 positions for air balancing specialists in the Washington, D.C. area, Record at 23 (February 19, 1980), while there are approximately 1,100 union sheet metal workers. Id. at 99. The number of air balancing positions available to petitioner as an injured air balancer is further diminished by the fact that only approximately 15 of these specialist positions require no sheet metal work. Id. at 23. In addition, the record indicates that the vast majority of these pure air balancing positions are available with two major companies, of which respondent Comfort Control is one. Id. at 22-24. Comfort Control has already indicated its unwillingness to hire petitioner. Therefore, petitioner's potential job market in the metropolitan area appears to consist of approximately eight positions, while prior to his injury he was apparently able to compete for any available sheet metal position open to the 1,100 union members. This reduction in available jobs by itself justifies an inference that petitioner is likely to spend more time unemployed than he would if he were not injured. 29