The claimant is 35 years old with a 9th grade education. The claimant’s only work was for two years, part-time as a dishwasher.
Earnings were below SGA level. The claimant alleges disability due to depression and
back pain. The claimant indicates they were in special education classes in school.
Purchased IQ testing and mental status exam show IQs in the low borderline range,
flat affect, and psychomotor retardation. Contact with their previous employer reveals
that the claimant required constant prompting to follow through on their work, which
was to wash dishes for a restaurant. The claimant had a difficult time relating to
the other restaurant employees who often ribbed the claimant for being slow. The restaurant
fired the claimant because the claimant required excessive supervision to get their
work done, the quality of their work was poor, and because they punched another employee,
who the claimant perceived was making fun of them. The claimant’s mental residual
functional capacity (MRFC) supports an inability to meet these basic demands of unskilled
work:
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understand, carry out, and remember simple instructions; and
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respond appropriately to supervision, coworkers, and work situations.
Because the claimant cannot meet the basic demands of unskilled work due to their
mental impairments, an allowance is appropriate using medical-vocational rule 204.00
as a framework. You do not need to consider the additional impact the claimant’s physical
allegations of back pain would have on the occupation base.