Occupational Information Development Advisory Panel

From today's Federal Register:

We are establishing the Occupational Information Development Advisory Panel (Panel) under the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). ...

Panel members will analyze the occupational information used by SSA in our disability programs and provide expert guidance as we develop an occupational information system (OIS) tailored for these programs. We plan to design the OIS to improve our disability policies and processes and to ensure up-to-date vocational evidence in our disability programs. We will select Panel members based primarily on their occupational expertise. This Panel will provide guidance on our plans and actions to replace the Dictionary of Occupational Titles and its companion volume, The Selected Characteristics of Occupations. We expect to tailor the OIS specifically for our disability programs. ...

The Panel will be composed of not more than 12 members, including: (a) Members of academia recognized as experts in relevant subject areas, such as occupational analysis, vocational assessment, and physical and occupational rehabilitation; (b) professional experts in relevant subject areas, such as vocational rehabilitation, forensic vocational assessment, and disability insurance programs; (c) medical professionals with experience in relevant subject areas such as occupational or physical rehabilitation medicine, psychiatry or psychology, and physical or occupational therapy; (d) professional experts who represent or advocate on behalf of the disabled claimants; and (e) an agency employee who has expertise in our disability program policies, processes, and systems. The Panel is continuing in nature. In accordance with the FACA, we will publish a notice of the first Panel meeting in the Federal Register.

This kicks any real decisions a few years down the road, which seems to be Social Security's strategy for dealing with its dirty little secret. The agency is basing decisions to deny claimants upon data that is decades old, data that everyone knows is unreliable and misleading. Newer data would almost certainly show that unskilled sedentary jobs have disappeared. My opinion is that the only way of forcing the agency to face up to its problem is through litigation.