Verna B. TERRY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Louis W. SULLIVAN, M.D., Secretary of Health & Human Services, Defendant-Appellee
Opinion
Opinion
Kozinski, J.
Social Security regulations require that disability benefits be paid to a claimant whose impairments prevent her from doing her previous work, unless the Secretary can identify other types of work she can perform. Where the claimant is close to retirement age, the Secretary’s burden is particularly heavy; he must identify jobs that are less demanding than the claimant’s previous work, but not so easy as to require no skill at all. We consider whether the jobs identified by the Secretary in this case fall within the proper range.
Facts
Verna Terry is sixty-four years old and has a high school education. For twenty-five years, she worked as a teller and clerk at Fred Meyer, Inc., a retail department store. In July 1985, her impairments forced her to stop working; she has had no substantial gainful employment since then. Terry suffers from osteoarthritis in her feet, degenerative arthritis in her neck and lower back, tendinitis in both shoulders, chronic back pain and a variety of gastrointestinal problems, including irritable bowel syndrome. At least one doctor has concluded that she is disabled. Terry applied for disability benefits in July 1986.