Commissioner On Phasing In DOT Replacement And Possible Automatic Approvals For 100% Disabled Vets

The National Association of Disability Examiners (NADE), an organization of personnel who make initial and reconsideration determinations on Social Security disability claims, has issued its Fall 2010 newsletter. Here is an excerpt from an article on Commissioner Michael Astrue's speech to a NADE conference in September:

Perhaps the one single issue facing the disability claims process that must be addressed is the need for SSA to replace the outdated Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT). Even at the mention of the DOT, the Commissioner was greeted with laughter from the audience. These NADE members were well acquainted with the DOT and its increasing prominence as an antique book. ... SSA has taken some major heat for accepting responsibility to update this volume of work that previously was the responsibility of the Department of Labor. ... Although it is a multi—year project to complete the new OIS [Occupational Information System], the Agency does not plan to wait until the end to roll out the new OIS but plans to phase in portions of the new OIS. ...

There has been some expression of thought among Members of Congress that there should be increased sharing of information between the Veterans Administration and the Social Security Administration, even to the point that veterans qualifying for disability benefits under the VA should automatically become entitled to SSA disability benefits. Although the two agencies have very different definitions of disability, the Commissioner reported there had been some initial communication between the two agencies as to how they could achieve such a goal. SSA is looking into the possibility of granting disability benefits to veterans qualifying for 100% disability from the VA and additional talks on this subject would continue.