Gary Phillips v. Carolyn Colvin

MEMORANDUM

Gary Phillips appeals the district court’s judgment affirming the Commissioner of Social Security’s denial of his application for disability insurance benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We review de novo, Molina v. Astrue, 674 F.3d 1104, 1110 (9th Cir.2012), and affirm.

Phillips contends that when the administrative law judge (“ALJ”) determined that Phillips had engaged in substantial gainful activity between June 2010 and May 2011, the ALJ failed to consider whether Phillips’s impairment-related work expenses should have been deducted from his earnings. This issue was waived by Phillips’s failure to raise it at the administrative level when he was represented by counsel, and Phillips has not demonstrated manifest injustice excusing the failure. See Meanel v. Apfel, 172 F.3d 1111, 1115 (9th Cir.1999) (holding “when claimants are represented by counsel, they must raise all issues and evidence at their administrative hearings in order to preserve them on appeal[,]” and failure to comply with this rule is excused only “when necessary to avoid a manifest injustice”).

The ALJ reasonably concluded that (1)…