Louis L. YOUNG, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Margaret M. HECKLER, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Defendant-Appellee

This is an action for judicial review of a final decision of the Secretary of Health and Human Services denying appellant Louis L. Young’s claim for disability benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). On cross-motions for summary judgment, the district court upheld the Secretary’s decision that appellant was not disabled within the meaning of the Social Security Act. Young appeals to this court, and we affirm.

FACTS

Appellant is a skilled laborer with fourteen years of formal education, including college aeronautics courses and specialized schooling in airplane automatic pilots. He has worked in overhauling automatic pilots, engine design, drafting, and, from 1975 to 1978, in disassembling and reassembling aircraft as an aircraft cabin mechanic. He stopped work on October 2, 1978 because of increased back pain. It is undisputed that appellant suffers from degenerative disc disease and that this prevents him from returning to his last position as an aircraft cabin mechanic, a job that involves significant amounts of lifting and medium to heavy exertion. However, the Secretary found that appellant was not disabled from returning to his other former occupations, and on that…