The Role of the Vocational Expert and a Railroad Retirement Board Hearing.
By Douglas I. Friedman of Friedman Law Firm, P.C.
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
Railroad Retirement Disability Hearings consider not only your medical condition, but also your age, education and work history. They also consider intangibles, such as your ability to concentrate and focus during an eight hour work day. And also your ability to adapt to new work places, industries, and job requirements. Another important consideration is whether your medical conditions will cause you to miss too much work to retain a job.
All of these limitations are vocational considerations that will be evaluated by the Vocational Expert at the hearing. The VE is a neutral witness, and usually they are knowledgeable, fair, and equitable. They will answer questions about vocational issues that are posed by the Hearing Officer and by your attorney.
VE testimony is often the most misunderstood aspect of the hearing. This is because the VE will often identify jobs that a person can do. But, you must remember that the jobs in the answer are based upon the assumptions given to the VE. So, if the Hearing Officer asks the VE to assume that a person can leap tall buildings with a single bound, like Superman, could perform work, the answer is very likely going to be yes. But, if Superman has PTSD, although he may be able to physically perform a job, he may not be able to work-- maybe he cannot be around people --; --; or he gets angry easily --; --; or he gets in fights with co-workers. These are non-exertional limitations that usually restrict or eliminate the ability to perform any kind of job.
But, you have to know what kind of questions to ask the VE. Many representatives do not ask the VE any questions at all -- --; and so they lose important and often helpful testimony. While the hearing is supposed to be non-adversarial, meaning that there is not a lawyer on the other side representing the government, you still have to ask questions that will help your case. The Hearing Officer may not ask the needed questions for you. So, unless you are properly prepared to cross-examine the vocational expert, it’s possible that the only vocational evidence in the record will be against you.
We will discuss in our next blog post the importance of entering all the important evidence into the record at a Railroad Retirement disability hearing.
If you have questions about the above information, please email us at LifeHealth@FriedmanFirmPC.com or call us at (800) 728-0434.