NOT COVERED BY SOCIAL SECURITY

Many people are amazed by what is not covered by the Social Security Act and, therefore, do not qualify for disability payments.  Here are some examples:
  • You were laid off and have looked everywhere for work but can't find a job.
  • The type of jobs you were trained for no longer exist or have moved out of the USA.
  • There are no jobs open in your field in the state of Alabama.
  • You can't get a job that pays above minimum wage and you can't live on that.
  • You can't get or renew a license to continue doing your present work.
  • You can no longer pass the physical exam to keep your present job.
While it might seem that those are perfectly good reasons for not working, the above problems are simply not medical disabilities:  they are unemployment problems.  The fact that no jobs exist, no jobs are open in your area or state, or you can't renew a license (such as a commercial drivers license) are not covered by Social Security.

The last item, not being able to pass a physical exam for work, may seem a stretch.  Surely, that is a disability.  It might be a sign that you have a disability but failing to pass your employer's physical is not, in itself, disabling.  There still may be other types of work that you could do.  For instance, a construction worker may not be able to perform the standing, walking or lifting required for his present job; however, if he could work as a rental store clerk, a ticket taker, cashier, or as a small parts inspector, he is not considered disabled by Social Security.

Step 4 of the adjudication process requires that the claimant be unable to perform any of his past relevant work, that is, work he has done during the past 15 year period.

Step 5 of the process requires that the claimant be unable, due to physical and/or mental impairments, to perform any other jobs that may exist in the national economy.  The only factors that can be considered at Step 5 are the claimant's age, education, past work experience and residual function capacity.  Whether or not jobs are available or open, or whether the claimant would actually be hired for a particular job, cannot be considered.

This is what makes Social Security disability payments difficult to get.  Contrary to what many people believe, the requirements to get federal disability payments are very strict and proving disability can be difficult.  

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