What does Sedentary Work Mean?  

What does Sedentary Work Mean?  

Sedentary Jobs Usually Require Excellent Hand Function

This surprises many people.  Most assume sedentary work is easier because it involves lifting very little weight, but in reality, sedentary work often requires more use of the hands and fingers than heavier jobs.

Social Security recognizes this in one of its most important policy rulings, SSR 96-9p, which provides:

“Most unskilled sedentary jobs require good use of both hands and the fingers; i.e., bilateral manual dexterity. Fine movements of small objects require use of the fingers; e.g., to pick or pinch. Most unskilled sedentary jobs require good use of the hands and fingers for repetitive hand-finger actions. Any significant manipulative limitation of an individual’s ability to handle and work with small objects with both hands will result in a significant erosion of the unskilled sedentary occupational base.”

That is one of the strongest statements Social Security has ever issued regarding the importance of hand function.

In practical terms, many sedentary jobs require workers to spend most of the day:

• typing;
• keyboarding;
• writing;
• grasping;
• pinching;
• sorting paperwork;
• filing documents;
• assembling small parts;
• handling tools; or
• manipulating small objects with both hands.

If a claimant cannot perform these activities consistently because of:

• carpal tunnel syndrome;
• cubital tunnel syndrome;
• permanent nerve damage;
• cervical radiculopathy;
• arthritis;
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS);
• loss of grip strength; or
• severe hand injuries,

the number of sedentary jobs available may be dramatically reduced.

This is one reason injuries involving the hands, wrists, elbows, neck, and peripheral nerves frequently become much more significant than they initially appear.

Recommended Reading: Why Grip Strength Matters in Workers’ Compensation and Social Security Disability Claims

Recommended Reading: Why Reaching, Handling, Fingering, and Feeling Matter in Workers’ Compensation and Social Security Disability Claims

Recommended Reading: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Cubital Tunnel Syndrome: How Hand and Nerve Injuries Affect Alabama Workers’ Compensation and Social Security Disability Claims

Recommended Reading: Why Reaching, Handling, Fingering, and Feeling Matter in Alabama Workers ‘Compensation and Social Security Disability Claims

Recommended Reading: How Can Permanent Nerve Damage Affect Both Workers Compensation and Social Security Disability Claims?

Postural Restrictions Matter Too

Many people assume sedentary work involves no bending or movement.

That is incorrect.

Under SSR 96-9p, most sedentary jobs require at least occasional stooping, and the ruling recognizes that a complete inability to stoop significantly erodes the sedentary occupational base.

Likewise, limitations involving:

• balancing;
• reaching;
• climbing;
• kneeling;
• crouching; and
• changing positions throughout the day

may substantially reduce the number of sedentary occupations available.

One restriction alone may not eliminate sedentary work.

Several permanent restrictions acting together often do.

Recommended Reading: How Postural Restrictions Affect Alabama Workers’ Compensation and Social Security Disability Claims

Workers’ Compensation Uses Sedentary Work Differently

Although Alabama workers’ compensation law does not determine disability using Social Security’s five-step sequential evaluation process, sedentary work remains extremely important.

Suppose a 58-year-old construction worker suffers:

• a lumbar fusion;
• chronic pain;
• permanent lifting restrictions; and
• permanent restrictions limiting him to sedentary work.

The question then becomes: Can this worker realistically return to reasonably suitable employment paying similar remuneration?  If not, vocational disability may become a central issue.

For non-scheduled injuries—or scheduled injuries that have been taken outside the schedule—the court may consider:

• age;
• education;
• work history;
• transferable skills;
• permanent work restrictions;
• chronic pain; and
• loss of earning capacity.

A permanent restriction to sedentary work can therefore become extremely important in determining vocational disability.

Recommended Reading: What Happens If I Can’t Return to My Job After a Work Injury? Workers’ Compensation and Social Security Disability Explained

Why Older Workers Often Benefit From Sedentary Restrictions

For workers over age 50, a limitation to sedentary work can actually improve the likelihood of qualifying for Social Security Disability benefits.

Why?

Because the Medical-Vocational Guidelines (commonly called the Grid Rules) recognize that older workers with:

• limited education;
• limited transferable skills; and
• a restriction to sedentary work

may have little realistic opportunity to adjust to new employment.

This is one reason why two individuals with identical medical conditions may receive different disability decisions.  Vocational factors matter.

Recommended Reading: How Age Affects Alabama Workers’ Compensation and Social Security Disability Claims

Recommended Reading: Understanding the Medical-Vocational Grid Rules

Functional Capacity Evaluations Often Determine Sedentary Restrictions

In many Alabama workers’ compensation cases, an injured worker eventually undergoes a Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE).

The evaluator may conclude the worker is capable of:

• Medium work;
• Light work; or
• Sedentary work.

That classification frequently influences:

• permanent work restrictions;
• vocational opinions;
• settlement negotiations;
• return-to-work decisions; and
• later Social Security Disability claims.

An FCE, however, is only one piece of evidence, and its conclusions should always be considered together with the treating physician’s opinions, medical records, diagnostic studies, and the worker’s actual day-to-day functioning.

Recommended Reading: What Is a Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE), and How Does It Affect My Workers’ Compensation Case?

Sedentary Work Does Not Mean You Are Not Disabled

Perhaps the biggest misconception is this: “If I can perform sedentary work, I cannot receive disability benefits.”

That simply is not true.

Many individuals limited to sedentary work are ultimately found disabled because of the combined effect of:

• age;
• education;
• transferable skills;
• chronic pain;
• medication side effects;
• manipulative limitations;
• postural restrictions; and
• vocational factors.

Likewise, an Alabama worker permanently restricted to sedentary work after a serious injury may have suffered a substantial loss of earning capacity, even though they retain the ability to perform some work.

The law looks at far more than whether someone can simply sit at a desk.

The Bottom Line

Sedentary work is the lowest exertional level recognized by the Social Security Administration, but it is far from effortless work.  It requires sustained sitting, reliable attendance, concentration, frequent use of both hands, repetitive hand-finger activity, and the ability to remain productive throughout an eight-hour workday. When chronic pain, nerve damage, medication side effects, postural restrictions, or manipulative limitations interfere with those basic work functions, the occupational base may be significantly reduced.

In Alabama workers’ compensation cases, a permanent restriction to sedentary work may significantly affect a worker’s vocational disability and loss of earning capacity. In Social Security Disability cases, it may determine whether the claimant qualifies for benefits under the Medical-Vocational Guidelines or is capable of performing other work existing in significant numbers in the national economy.

Understanding what sedentary work truly requires is essential because the difference between sedentary and light work—or between being able to perform the full range of sedentary work and being unable to do so—can determine the outcome of an entire case.

At Powell & Denny, we have represented injured and disabled workers throughout Alabama for more than 30 years. We understand that serious claims are rarely decided by lifting restrictions alone.  They are decided by how the injury affects the person’s ability to function, work, and earn a living.

If you have questions about an Alabama Workers’ Compensation claim, or a claim for Social Security Disability benefits, don’t hesitate to contact the experienced attorneys at Powell and Denny today a free consultation; remember. Virtual appointments are available through Zoom so you can meet with one of the attorneys of Powell and Denny from wherever you live, and remember-there is no fee unless you win.

Powell & Denny: We Work When You Can’t.

Offices in Birmingham, Alabama and Huntsville, AL

 

Next in this Series: What Does “Light Work” Really Mean? Why Standing Six Hours a Day Can Change the Outcome of Your Workers’ Compensation or Social Security Disability Claim.