By Robert J. Osborne, Esq.

The Social Security Act (the “Act”) defines the term “disability” as “the inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months; or . . . in the case of an individual who has attained the age of 55 and is blind . . . inability by reason of such blindness to engage in substantial gainful activity requiring skills or abilities comparable to those of any gainful activity in which he has previously engaged with some regularity and over a substantial period of time.”

The Act additionally requires that the physical or mental impairment be of such severity that an individual cannot do his previous work, and, considering the individual’s age, education, and work experience cannot “engage in any other kind of substantial gainful work which exists in the national economy, regardless of whether such work exists in the immediate area in which [the individual] lives, or whether a specific job vacancy exists for [the individual], or whether [the individual] would be hired if [the individual] applied for work.”

In an earlier article, I discussed the five-step sequential process used by the Social Security Administration to determine if an individual has a disability. This article discusses the requirement of the second step of that process: that an individual have a “severe” physical or mental impairment.

The Social Security Regulations (the “Regulations”) do not define what is “severe.” Instead, the Regulations define a “non-severe impairment(s).” “An impairment or combination of impairments is not severe if it does not significantly limit [an individual’s] physical or mental ability to do basic work activities.” “Basic work activities” are “the abilities and aptitudes necessary to do most jobs.” Some examples of basic work activities listed in the Regulations are:

1. Physical functions such as walking, standing, sitting, lifting, pushing, pulling, reaching, carrying or handling;
2. Capacities for seeing, hearing and speaking;
3. Understanding, carrying out, and remembering simple instructions;
4. Use of judgment;
5. Responding appropriately to supervision, co-workers and usual work situations; and
6. Dealing with changes in a routine work setting.

The Social Security Administration has stated in one of its rulings (the “Ruling”) that:
An impairment or combination of impairments is found “not severe” . . . when medical evidence establishes only a slight abnormality or a combination of slight abnormalities which would have no more than a minimal effect on an individual’s ability to work even if the individual’s age, education, or work experience were specifically considered (i.e., the person’s impairment(s) has no more than a minimal effect on his or her physical or mental ability(ies) to perform basic work activities).

Both the Regulations and the Ruling refer to a “combination of impairments.” This is because the Regulations require the Social Security Administration to “consider the combined effect of all of [an individual’s] impairments without regard to whether any such impairment, if considered separately, would be of sufficient severity.” This means that, according to the Ruling, the Social Security Administration must consider, “the possibility of several [non-severe] impairments combining to produce a severe impairment . . . .”

According to the Ruling, if the Social Security Administration finds that an impairment or combination of impairments is not severe, it follows that “an individual’s ability to engage in [substantial gainful activity] is not serious[ly] affected.” However, the Social Security Administration must evaluate “the effects of the impairment(s) on [an individual’s] ability to do basic work activities” before reaching this conclusion. Thus, the Social Security Administration must carefully evaluate “the medical findings which describe the impairment(s) and [make] an informed judgment about its (their) limiting effects on the individual’s physical and mental ability(ies) to perform basic work activities . . . .”

So, at the second step of the sequential evaluation process, the Social Security Administration will evaluate medical evidence alone to determine how an impairment(s) affects an individual’s ability to do basic work activities. “If an individual has the physical and mental abilities necessary to perform such activities, no evaluation of past work (or of age, education, work experience) is needed. Rather, it is reasonable to conclude, based on the minimal impact of the impairment(s), that the individual is capable of engaging in [substantial gainful activity].”

The Act requires that, to have a “disability,” and individual must have a physical or mental impairment of such severity that the individual cannot do his previous work, and, considering the individual’s age, education, and work experience cannot “engage in any other kind of substantial gainful work which exists in the national economy . . . .”

To determine whether an individual has a “disability” the Social Security Administration will evaluate whether the individual has an impairment that is not severe, meaning, it “does not significantly limit [an individual’s] physical or mental ability to do basic work activities.” The Social Security Administration must “consider the combined effect of all of [an individual’s] impairments without regard to whether any such impairment, if considered separately, would be of sufficient severity.” ”

So, at the second step of the sequential evaluation process, the Social Security Administration will evaluate medical evidence alone to determine how an impairment(s) affects an individual’s ability to do basic work activities. “If an individual has the physical and mental abilities necessary to perform [basic work] activities,” the sequential evaluation process stops, and an individual will be found “not disabled.”