This is the first installment in the blog series titled “Classifying the Physical Demands of Occupations.” When evaluating a claim for Social Security disability benefits and/or Supplemental Security Income the Social Security Administration (SSA) must classify the physical demands of your past relevant work and potentially the physical demands of other jobs that exist in the national economy. To do this the SSA relies on the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) and its companion publication, the Selected Characteristics of Occupations (SCO).
The physical demands of occupations are evaluated in relationship to twenty different factors. One factor that is used is “Strength”. The SCO describes five different “Strength” categories that are differentiated by exertional requirements: sedentary, light, medium, heavy and very heavy.
Sedentary work generally requires exerting up to 10 pounds of force on an occasional basis or a negligible amount of force (less than 10 pounds) on a frequent basis.
Light work generally requires exerting up to 20 pounds of force on an occasional basis, 10 pounds of on a frequent basis, or a negligible amount of force constantly. Jobs may also be classified as light if they require: standing or walking to a significant degree; sitting most of the time while pushing or pulling arm or leg controls; or working at a constant production rate pace.
Medium work generally requires exerting up to 20 to 50 pounds of force occasionally, 10 to 25 pounds of force frequently, or up to 10 pounds constantly.
Heavy work generally requires exerting up to 50 to 100 pounds of force occasionally, 25 to 50 pounds frequently, or 10 to 20 pounds constantly.
Very Heavy work generally requires exerting in excess of 100 pounds of force occasionally, 25 to 50 pounds frequently, or more than 20 pounds constantly.
It is important to understand that these five categories listed above are the sub-categories that fall under the “Strength” factor which is only one of the 20 factors that the SSA consider when evaluating the physical demands of occupations.
