GRID RULES AND WINNING SSD BENEFITS
WHAT ARE THE GRID RULES?
GRID Rules are regulations the SSA uses to award SSD benefits if you are over 50 years old. The GRID Rules are actually called the Medical Vocational Guidelines. These guidelines apply to you if your medical condition does not meet or equal one of SSA’s listings. These special rules also apply to you if you are over the age of 50. The rules change again at 55. And again at 60. The rules will tell you whether you qualify for SSD benefits.
The GRID Rules take into account a number of factors. First, the SSA looks at your age. Specifically, they will want to know if you are over 50 or over 55.
Second, the SSA looks at your education. For instance, have you graduated from high school. Do you have a GED? Or, did you graduate from college. Likewise, you may have gone to a trade school or have special certifications. The rules look at all types of education.
Third, the SSA looks at your past relevant work. This is work you have done in the last 15 years. Fourth, the SSA will look at your “residual functional capacity.” This is the physical ability that is left to you after they take into account your medical conditions. The rules apply and then, if you have a severe symptoms, the GRID will say you qualify for SSD benefits.
THE FIRST QUESTION THE GRID RULES ASK IS – WHAT IS YOUR AGE?
The GRID Rules only apply to you if you are 50 years old or older. The reason the rules only apply at 50 years old is that is the age Congress chose to draw a line between a younger individual and an older individual. This distinction is made in the law for the purpose of determining whether you qualify for benefits. Your age category is very important. Especially if you have exertional limitations from your medical conditions.
For example, if you are between the ages of 50-54, the GRID rules say you are “closely approaching advanced age.” When you reach the age of 55, the rules label you as a person of “advanced age.” Once you are 60 years old, your new label is “closely approaching retirement age.”
The purpose of these categories is to look at your employability in the labor market. The older you get, the harder it is to get a new job. Congress understood that when they made these rules. The rules are there to acknowledge that an older person with a severe medical condition may not be able to compete against a younger person in the job market.
THE SECOND QUESTION IS – WHAT IS YOUR EDUCATION?
Your education level may seem like a simple question. However, the GRIDS split your formal education or lack of it, into various categories. The first category is “illiterate or unable to communicate in English.” If you cannot read or you do not speak English, then it may be difficult to find a job.
The second category is”limited or less.” This means that your education level is below a high school graduation level. The third category is a high school graduate or more. This category includes everything after high school graduation, like college and trade school. Find out more about education and the ability to speak English at work.
It is important that you do not claim you have education which you do not have. For example, don’t claim that you finished high school, when in fact you dropped out in 10th grade. Not having a high school diploma is actually helpful to you when the GRIDS apply. Additionally, if you were in special education, make sure you tell that to the SSA, your attorney, and the judge at your hearing. The SSA wants to know if you have learning problems that prevent you from reading, doing math, or following instructions.
THE THIRD QUESTION THE GRID RULES ASK IS – WHAT IS YOUR PAST RELEVANT WORK?
Past relevant work is not what is sounds like. Because under SSA’s rules – all work is not relevant. First, in order for your work to count as “work”, you have to have earned enough money for your job to count as “substantial gainful activity (SGA).” Substantial gainful activity is a different amount of money every year. For example, in 2023, SGA was $1470. In 2024, SGA is $1550. This is how much money you would need to earn in a month (prior to taxes being taken out) for it to count as work.
For instance, if you earn $3000 in one month at work, then that month is a month of SGA and it counts as work. If you only earn $600 in one month, then that is not a month of “work.” It does not count.
Therefore, if you get a job as a cashier and you only work at that job for 3 months and earn $600 per month, it will not count as “past relevant work.” The reason it doesn’t count as work is that you didn’t earn enough money and you didn’t work the job long enough to acquire skills in that job. Therefore, the SSA will not count that job as past work experience.
WHY IS YOUR PAST WORK IMPORTANT?
Your past relevant work is important because the SSA has to first determine if you can return to your old jobs. The Social Security Administration gets your old jobs off of your work history form. Next, the compare your work history form to an IRS list of your past jobs. They look at your old jobs to see if you have skills. Then, they determine if you have skills from your past work that transfers to other jobs.
For instance, if your old job was that of an electrician, then perhaps you have the skills to work in another job putting small appliances together. Or, if you have past work as a nurse, then you may have the skills to work at a blood bank or as a hospital intake worker.
THE FOURTH QUESTION IS – WHAT CATEGORY OF WORK CAN YOU PERFORM?
Social Security will make a determination about what level of exertion you can perform in a work setting. This is the only way the judge can apply the GRID rules. Usually, a judge will determine your “residual functional capacity” at a hearing. Learn more about your residual functional capacity.
The judge looks to your medical records and the opinion of your doctor to determine what category of work you can do. The judge will put you into one of 5 categories.
The five categories are from the least level of exertion to the most: seated, light, medium, heavy, and very heavy. Individuals who can perform heavy or very heavy work are generally not found disabled. Therefore, there is no GRID chart for that level of work. Learn more about the definition of work.
THE SSA WILL DECIDE IF YOUR SKILLS TRANSFER TO OTHER WORK
The other thing the SSA will look at are your skills. If you have skills from your past work, then those skills may transfer to other jobs. There are three types of job skills; skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled. A vocational expert at your SSA hearing will determine if you have skills that transfer to other jobs.
The GRIDs are a chart for sedentary, light and medium exertional levels of work. After Social Security makes a finding about what your RFC is, then they will then look at the GRID chart. The GRID chart will contain your exertion level and the chart will match it with your age, education, and past work. The chart will then direct a finding of disabled or not disabled. In general, the older you are the better chance you have of getting SSD benefits.
DOES DDS APPLY THE GRID RULES TO SSD CLAIMS?
Often, DDS does not apply the GRID Rules. The GRID Rules offer a way for you to win your case even if your medical condition doesn’t meet or equal SSA’s listing. Even if you do not perfectly meet SSA’s legal criteria, you can still win benefits because the GRID states you cannot function in a normal job.
For example, when you have severe physical and mental conditions, then the SSA will evaluate your ability to function at work. For example, if you have a back condition that prevents you from standing and lifting more than 10 pounds, they you will be limited to seated work. Sedentary work is seated, like a desk job. If you are over 50 and cannot use your skills, even if you can do seated work, then you win benefits.
It may seem strange that even if a person could work, they still win benefits. But what this law acknowledges it that older people do not get hired by employers. If you are over 50 years old, then you cannot compete with a younger person who has the same resume. The employer will almost always hire a younger person over an older one.
THE 5TH CIRCUIT HOLDS THAT ALJ HAS NO RIGHT TO IGNORE THE GRID RULES
In Schofield v. Saul (5th Circuit 02/28/2020), the Court recently held that ALJ’s cannot ignore the GRID Rules. Schofield was denied Social Security benefits based on the SSA’s decision that she did not qualify under the GRID Rules. The 5th Circuit reversed.
The court found that the administrative law judge (ALJ) did not provide anything in his decision that it could use to evaluate Schofield’s borderline age. However, the regulations that govern the ALJ’s evaluation of age expressly state, “[i]f you are within a few days to a few months of reaching an older age category, and using the older age category would result in a determination . . . that you are disabled, we will consider whether to use the older age category.” 20 C.F.R. § 404.1563(b). Therefore, the ALJ expressly ignored SSA’s GRID rules.
The court held the ALJ had no right to ignore the GRID Rules. Likewise, the ALJ should not ignore the GRID rules at your hearing. Hiring an attorney will ensure that the judge follows SSA’s rules.
WE CAN WIN YOUR SSD BENEFITS WITH THE GRIDS
At our law firm, we use the Medical Vocational Guidelines or the GRIDS every day in court. Our lawyers and staff argue the GRID Rules and our clients win their SSD benefits. At Cannon Disability Law we specialize in helping you prove you qualify for SSD and SSI benefits.
Our goal is to develop your case so that your medical records show the SSA you cannot work. In order to do this, you will need you to see the doctor and get treatment for your medical conditions. Likewise, you will need the support of your doctor when we ask him or her to complete a letter stating why you cannot work.
Our attorneys practice SSD law in many states. You can find out about the work we do at Utah SSD information. Similarly, learn morea about Nevada SSD & SSI benefits. We also represent clients in Idaho, Colorado and California. Learn more about Colorado SSD benefits and California SSD benefits.
We work with you over the course of the appeal process. It is a team effort. At each level of appeal, we will collect your medical records. Medical records from your treating sources prove you cannot work. We know you need SSD benefits to replace your income. That is what SSD benefits are for. Hire us to help you obtain them.
Over the past 30 years, we have won over $100 million in ongoing and past due benefits for our clients. Obtaining SSD benefits for our clients is the only kind of law we do. Contact us for a free review of your benefits. We can explain the GRID Rules and how they help win your case.
