This supersedes Program Policy Statement No. District Court for the District of Minnesota. The purpose of this revision to SSR and SSR is to emphasize, in the sections relating to mental impairments: 1 that the potential job base for mentally ill claimants without adverse vocational factors is not necessarily large even for individuals who have no other impairments, unless their remaining mental capacities are sufficient to meet the intellectual and emotional demands of at least unskilled, competitive, remunerative work on a sustained basis; and 2 that a finding of disability can be appropriate for an individual who has a severe mental impairment which does not meet or equal the Listing of Impairments, even where he or she does not have adversities in age, education, or work experience.
This involves consideration of the person's RFC and the vocational factors of age, education, and work experience. Three tables in Appendix 2 illustrate the interaction of these vocational factors with his or her RFC. RFC is expressed in terms of sedentary, light, and medium work exertion. The tables rules reflect the potential occupational base of unskilled jobs for individuals who have severe impairments which limit their exertional capacities: approximately 2, medium, light, and sedentary occupations; 1, light and sedentary occupations; and sedentary occupations — each occupation representing numerous jobs in the national economy.
Where individuals also have nonexertional limitations of function or environmental restrictions, the table rules provide a framework for consideration of how much the individual's work capability is further diminished in terms of any types of jobs within these exertional ranges with would be contraindicated by the additional limitations or restrictions. However, where a person has solely a nonexertional impairment s , the tables rules do not direct conclusions of disabled or not disabled.
Conclusions must, instead, be based on the principles in the appropriate sections of the regulations, giving consideration to the rules for specific case situations in Appendix 2.
This PPS clarifies policies applicable in cases involving the evaluation of solely nonexertional impairments.
