Alabama Social Security Disability Guide - by The Forsythe Firm - (256) 799-0297.

Here is what the law requires Social Security to do in order to determine if you meet the definition of "disability" and qualify for benefits. 1)  Determine whether you are present working at "substantial gainful activty."  In 2014, this means earning at least $1,070 per month, gross. 2)  Find that you have one or more severe medically determinable impairments (other than drug or alcohol abuse).  A doctor's medical record is essential at this step. 3)   Find out whether your impairment is severe enough to meet a Listing.  If not, Social Security must determine your "residual functional capacity," which means the most you can do with regard to work related activity. 4)  Determine whether you can perform any of your past relevant work--which is usually the work you have performed at substantial gainful activity level during the past 15 years ( and did the work long enough to learn how to do it). 5)  If you cannot return to any pa

To determine whether you are disabled, Social Security is required to use a five step process.  Step 4 asks if you can perform your past work.  If not, they move on to step 5, which asks, Can you perform any other work that exists in the US economy? That term "any other work" is so general that it includes literally millions of jobs to be considered.  Many of the "other work" jobs will be unskilled, requiring little education or training, perhaps not even the ability to read or write.  Another problem, many of those jobs will be at the sedentary exertion level, requiring no lifting over 10 pounds occasionally and the ability to stand for only 2 hours out of an 8 hour workday. If the vocational "expert" called to testify by Social Security says that you can perform 2 or 3 of these "other jobs," it gives the judge an option to deny your benefits.  This is called a Step 5 denial. There are several defenses to the Step 5 denial.  The first and