Court Opinion

ID: 9513599
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-06 22:38:15.401295+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:05:56.079880
License: Public Domain

MANDE WALLE, Chief Justice,
concurring.
[¶ 14] The rehabilitation consultant assigned to Ronald Paul testified she had contacted a big employer in the Phoenix area and was told employers in that area routinely accommodate physically impaired applicants for entry level positions. The ALJ, recognizing the size of the Phoenix area, “presumed” there were a large number of employers in the Phoenix area, although that well-known fact is not in the record. A reasonable person could conclude that if there are a large number of employers in the area and that if employers routinely accommodate physically impaired applicants for entry level position, Paul had a reasonable likelihood he would be able to locate a job accommodating his lifting restrictions under the Bureau’s plan.
[¶ 15] The problem identified by the majority opinion is the “presumption” there be a large number of jobs available in a heavily populated area. If there are a large number of jobs in a populous area, there is evidence in that record that the employers filling those jobs routinely make accommodations for physically impaired applicants for entry level positions. In that instance, the conclusion that Paul has a reasonable likelihood of finding a job that will accommodate his lifting restric*890tions hardly seems unwarranted, unfair or an impermissible shifting of a burden to go forward.
[¶ 16] I have reservations that the “presumption” used by the ALJ was unwarranted in this instance. Nevertheless, despite my fear this opinion will be read to require proof of the obvious to an inordinate point, I concur, although reluctantly, in the decision of the majority to remand for further evidence. Insofar as the result of the majority is a signal to ALJ’s and the Bureau that unwarranted presumptions of fact are unacceptable, I agree with the majority opinion. I suggest ALJ’s and the Bureau, as well as other administrative agencies, avoid the use of that term except where specifically authorized by law in order to avoid what may become a predictable response from this Court.
[¶ 16] jGerald W. Vande Walle, C.J.