Yolanda RENNER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Margaret M. HECKLER, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Defendant-Appellee

Yolanda Renner appeals from a district court judgment affirming a decision of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (“Secretary”) to deny Renner disability benefits. Renner contends that: (1) substantial evidence does not support the Secretary’s finding that Renner was not disabled from performing any substantial gainful activity for a consecutive twelvemonth period as a result of pain from heel spurs; (2) the Secretary erred in determining that Renner had transferable skills; and (3) the Secretary erred by failing to determine whether Renner’s skills were highly marketable.

The Secretary’s decision is hereby reversed and the case is remanded for further findings. On remand the Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) is to consider the effect of Renner’s advanced age on the transferability and marketability of her skills.

FACTS

Yolanda Renner, 61 years old at the time of the hearing, has a high school education. She worked as both a grocery checker and drug store clerk from 1938 until 1977, when she stopped working full-time because of intense chronic foot pain. She worked for two weeks each Christmas from 1978 to 1980, and ceased working entirely in December 1980. In January…