Samuel L. Embry v. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare

Samuel Embry appeals from the Secretary’s decision denying him Social Security disability benefits. To qualify for benefits, Embry was required to establish that on or before June 30, 1975, when he last met the earnings requirement, he was totally disabled from performing any substantially gainful employment available in the economy. The medical reports overwhelmingly established that Embry could not do any work requiring bending, straining or lifting after September 1973. The vocational expert suggested, however, that unless pain precluded Embry from sitting and standing intermittently over an eight-hour work period, he would still be qualified to perform numerous sedentary jobs that were available in the region. The administrative law judge felt that pain probably precluded Embry from even sedentary work by the date of the hearing in January 1977. The administrative law judge was not convinced, however, that the pain had reached that level of severity by the crucial date of June 30, 1975. See Waters v. Gardner, 452 F.2d 855, 858 (9th Cir. 1971).

The administrative law judge’s findings must be based on substantial evidence. See Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 401 ,…