Kenneth H. PAULSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Otis R. BOWEN, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Defendant-Appellee

Kenneth H. Paulson appeals from the district court’s summary judgment affirming a determination by the Secretary of Health and Human Services denying disability insurance benefits and Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) benefits. We agree with his contention on appeal that the district court erred in failing to remand the case for findings of fact on the issue of transferability of work skills. We reverse and remand.

I.

Paulson applied for disability and SSI benefits on December 11, 1984. The applications were denied. Paulson subsequently appeared before the ALT who found that Paulson’s impairments prevented him from performing his past relevant work as a truck driver. The AU found that Paulson has non-exertional impairments in that he cannot work around heights, dangerous machinery, or respiratory irritants. A vocational expert (“VE”), Joyce Holgren, testified that Paulson’s prior jobs were semiskilled. Ms. Holgren stated that some of the skills from the truck driving position would be transferable to sedentary jobs, such as gate tender, parking lot attendant, non-walking security guard, and assembly-type positions. She further opined that, although Paulson’s low I.Q.,…