After years of scrutiny and delays, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has initiated steps to modernize its disability claims process by incorporating updated jobs data. This move comes after pressure from the Ways and Means Committee, led by Republicans.
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith expressed concerns about the current state of the SSA's disability claims process. "The Social Security Administration’s disability claims process is a complete and utter mess with close to two million Americans currently waiting for a decision on a disability claim or appeal," he stated. He emphasized that outdated job listings have disadvantaged some claimants while benefiting others who may not be truly disabled.
Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Drew Ferguson also criticized the reliance on outdated data. "It’s outrageous that, for decades, the SSA relied on data from the 1970s to determine disability claims, disadvantaging hardworking Americans and wasting taxpayer dollars," Ferguson remarked.
A recent ruling by the SSA now allows vocational experts (VEs) to use updated occupational data during testimony at adjudication hearings without having to reconcile it with older sources like the Department of Labor’s Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT). The DOT was last significantly updated in the 1970s, which has led to improper denial or granting of benefits based on non-existent or omitted job listings.
Since 2012, efforts have been underway to replace this outdated system through collaboration between SSA and DOL's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), using data from the Occupational Requirements Survey (ORS). Despite plans to implement this new data in 2020, there have been delays until now.
The modernization effort has already cost over $300 million, with an additional annual expense for conducting ORS surveys. However, utilizing existing ORS-collected occupational data incurs no extra cost.
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