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Ensure that information about the claimant’s PRW is detailed enough to compare the
requirements of the work with the claimant’s residual functional capacity (RFC) on
a function-by-function basis.
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If the evidence does not permit a function-by-function comparison, obtain additional
information from the claimant or a third party.
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If the evidence the claimant or the third party provided about how the claimant performed
the PRW appears internally inconsistent, clarify the inconsistency before determining
whether the claimant can do PRW as they performed it.
EXAMPLE: The claimant says they did no lifting in their job as an office cleaner, but their
description of duties includes mopping and vacuuming the floors, emptying trash, and
transporting trash to a central collection area. Obviously, some lifting, carrying,
pushing, and pulling were required to complete the claimant’s job tasks. The adjudicator
will need to obtain additional information about the weights lifted, carried, pushed
or pulled if ability to do this PRW as performed is material to the disability determination.
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The Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) contains information about occupations
in the national economy. An occupation is an aggregate of the requirements of a job
as workers perform it at a number of different workplaces.
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Do not use DOT information about work requirements as a measure of the accuracy of
the claimant’s description of their past job. How workers perform a job may vary by
workplace depending on an employer’s needs.
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Do not use occupational information such as the DOT to fill in missing information
about the job requirements.
EXAMPLE: The claimant’s description of how they performed their PRW includes all of the information
necessary except for details about the reaching and handling required. It appears
that the job is within the claimant’s RFC; however, their RFC includes reaching and
handling limitations. The adjudicator cannot rely on the DOT to fill in this missing
information in the claimant’s job description when evaluating the claimant’s ability
to do PRW as they performed it. The adjudicator will need to contact the claimant
to find out the reaching and handling requirements of the job as they performed it.
NOTE: If ability to do PRW as the claimant performed it is material to the disability determination,
a DOT description cannot substitute for a description of how the claimant performed
their job.