Eshagh Massachi v. Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of the Social Security Administration

Eshagh Massachi appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment upholding the Commissioner of Social Security’s denial of Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) benefits. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We affirm in part and vacate and remand in part.

We must decide for the first time whether, in light of the requirements of Social Security Ruling (“SSR”) 00-4p, an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) may rely on the testimony of a vocational expert regarding the requirements of a particular job without first inquiring whether that expert’s testimony conflicts with the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. Consistent with other circuits that have considered this question, we hold that an ALJ may not.

I. Background

Massachi filed for SSI disability benefits in 1996 based on depression and other problems. In the final step of the five-step inquiry to determine disability, the ALJ found that Massachi was not disabled within the meaning of the Social Security Act because he could adjust to other work. The ALJ also assessed Massachi’s residual functional capacity and found that Massa-chi “often” suffered from deficiencies of concentration, persistence, or pace…