Emphasizing Work History

Thursday, July 26th, 2012

When applying for Social Security Disability (“SSD”) benefits, you are only required to provide information about the work you did during the last 15 years. However, that does not necessarily mean that you should restrict yourself to that time period. The longer your work history, the more you want to consider providing your entire work history.

An important aspect of an SSD claim is the determination of whether your statements about your inability to work due to your symptoms is credible. One way to bolster your credibility is by demonstrating that you have a good work ethic. The courts have consistently held that a claimant with a good work record is entitled to substantial credibility when claiming inability to work because of a disability, especially when it is with the same employer, and it justifies the inference that the claimant stopped working for the reasons provided.

I represent a 55 year old field technician who worked for Verizon for over 30 years. I submitted papers arguing that there was no need for a hearing to assess the claimant’s credibility because his strong work history with the same employer was objective evidence establishing his credibility. His SSD application was approved today. When discussing the claimant’s credibility, the decision took special “note that the claimant has an excellent work history, having worked for Verizon for over 30 years.”

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