The Social Security Administration is removing a list of 114 outdated and unknown occupations, such as reptile farmer and railroad telegrapher, as employment options for people applying for disability benefits.
This list is used by the Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs to determine whether an applicant can find another job based on their abilities. Based on this occupation list, an applicant may be denied benefits, deemed “not disabled,” and encouraged to find work instead in one of the occupations listed in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles.
Although the Department of Labor stopped relying on the list decades ago, the Social Security Administration still relies on it when making final decisions on disability benefit applications.
“While our disability determination process remains robust, we are continually making improvements to ensure our disability programs are current and easy for customers to use,” the SSA said in a statement.
The SSA also said that 13 occupations would require additional justification before they could be listed as an applicant’s work option.
“It makes sense to identify occupations that currently exist in very limited numbers in the nation’s economy,” Social Security Administrator Martin O’Malley told Newsweek. “With this update, the agency will no longer cite these occupations when denying applications for disability benefits.”
To read more from the Washington Examiner, click here
However, the Dictionary of Occupational Titles lists a total of 3,127 unskilled occupations as jobs that an individual could potentially work in, including many jobs that are not sedentary.
The changes will take effect on June 22, 2024.