Many people think of disability as requiring a wheelchair or walker to get around, or another obvious condition that makes working difficult. That's not always the case.
Social Security's definition of "ability to work" means working 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, on a "regular and continuous basis."
An individual may meet the requirement for disability by being unable to perform consistent work.
Concentration refers to the ability to stay focused on work-related activities. Most work requires this ability for at least 2-hours at a time and for 8 hours during a workday.
Persistence is the ability to report to work regularly and consistently and remain on the job for 8 hours per day. Being excessively off task or having excessive absences will interfere with this ability.
Pace means the ability to produce a sufficient amount of work at an acceptable speed or rate.
Concentration, persistence and pace may be affected by pain, fatigue, mental illness such as anxiety or depression--or a number of other factors.
If a claimant would be absent more than 1 or 2 days per month, be off task greater than 10 percent of the time or have an unacceptably slow pace on the job, he or she may qualify for disability benefits. Of course, there must be a medical reason for these deficiencies as demonstrated in the medical records.
SOCIAL SECURITY JUSTICE: THE FORSYTHE FIRM
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