The claimant is 35 years old with a 9th grade education. His only work was for 2 years, part-time as a dishwasher. Earnings
were below SGA level. He alleges disability due to depression and back pain. He indicates
he was 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 his previous employer reveals that he required constant prompting to
follow through on his work, which was to wash dishes for a restaurant. He had a difficult
time relating to the other restaurant employees who often ribbed him for being slow.
The restaurant fired him because he required excessive supervision in order for him
to get his work done, the quality of his work was poor, and because he punched another
employee, whom he perceived was making fun of him. His 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 he cannot meet the basic demands of unskilled work due to his mental impairments,
an allowance is appropriate using medical-vocational rule 204.00 as a framework. You
do not need to consider the additional impact his physical allegations of back pain
would have on the occupation base.