The Work History Report

Welcome to Season 1, Episode 10 of Winning Isn't Easy: Navigating Your Social Security Disability Claim. In this episode, we'll dive into the complicated topic of "The Work History Report."

Join host Nancy L. Cavey, an experienced disability attorney, as she breaks down Form SSA-3369 – the Work History Report. While all forms are essential to a disability claim, the Work History Report is arguably the most important, as it outlines your past employment and helps establish your job, occupation, and skill set. Understanding this form is especially crucial due to recent rule changes in 2024. In this episode of Winning Isn't Easy, Nancy is joined by Cavey Law associate attorney Krysti Monaco to explain the form in detail. They walk through each section, offering guidance on how to provide the most effective answers.

In this episode, we'll cover the following topics:

1 -  What is Form SSA-3369, and Why Is It Important?

2 - Preparing to Fill Out the Form

3 - A Step-by-Step Guide to Filling Out the SSA-3369

4 - Tips for Success

5 - Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Whether you're a claimant, or simply seeking valuable insights into the disability claims landscape, this episode provides essential guidance to help you succeed in your journey. Don't miss it.


Listen to Our Sister Podcast:

We have a sister podcast - Winning Isn't Easy: Long-Term Disability ERISA Claims. Give it a listen: https://wiedisabilitypodcast.buzzsprout.com


Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

LINK TO YOUR RIGHTS TO SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY: https://mailchi.mp/caveylaw/your-rights-to-social-security-disability-benefits

FREE CONSULT LINK: https://caveylaw.com/contact-us/


Need Help Today?:

Need help with your Social Security Disability claim? Have questions? Please feel welcome to reach out to use for a FREE consultation. Just mention you listened to our podcast.

Review, like, and give us a thumbs up wherever you are listening to Winning Isn't Easy. We love to see your feedback about our podcast, and it helps us grow and improve.

Please remember that the content shared is for informational purposes only, and should not replace personalized legal advice or guidance from qualified professionals.

Transcript

Nancy Cavey [00:00:00]:
 Foreign welcome back to Winning Isn't Easy. The Social Security Disability Version. This podcast is a podcast that we've created to help you understand the Social Security disability claims process. And my name is Nancy Cavey and I'm your host. I'm joined today by my associate, Christy Monaco. Now, before we get started today, the Florida Bar association says I have to tell you that this podcast is not legal advice. We've said it, but nothing will ever prevent us from giving you an easy to understand overview of the Social Security disability claims process, the games that are played, and what you need to know to get the Social Security disability benefits you deserve. So off we go.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:00:56]:
 Now, in the last episode we talked about the Disability Adult Report form. And today we're going to dive into a crucial but often confusing part of the Social Security disability process. That's the work history form known as form SSA3369. Now, I will tell you that this form can make or break your disability claim, especially with the 2024 rule changes that are retroactive. And we're going to walk you through this form and how to fill it out step by step. So I want you to stick around and hear our expert tips and hear information about the common pitfalls to avoid that can result in a claim denial, quite frankly. So we want to make sure that you understand five things, what the form is. So what is form SSA 3369 and why is it so important? Two, how to prepare to fill out the form.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:01:49]:
 Number three, a step by step guide, and how to fill out form SSA 3369, Tips for Success. And number five, Common Pitfalls to avoid. So before we get started, we're going to take a quick break and I hope you join us back because we've got some great information that you need to know to get your Social Security disability benefits. Welcome back to Winning Isn't Easy. Ready to get started? We're going to start out by talking about Form SSA 3369 and why it's important. Christy, let's start with the basics.
 
 Christy Monaco [00:02:33]:
 Sure. So SSA3369 is the work history report, and that's the form that Social Security uses to evaluate whether your medical condition prevents you from doing your past work or any other work in the national economy. Essentially, it's a snapshot of the physical, mental, and cognitive demands of the jobs you've held in the last five years. Filling out this form correctly is vital because it plays a key role in Social Security's decision making process at both steps four and step five of their sequential evaluation. So, Nancy, what could happen if this form is incorrectly completed?
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:03:08]:
 Well, there are a couple things that can make your claim go south. Number one, the Social Security Administration could incorrectly determine what your past relevant work. Now that's important because it's step four. The issue is, can you go back to your past relevant work? And if they inaccurately determine what your past relevant work is based on an inaccurate or incomplete description, you're going to get a denial at step four that's going to be difficult to address because we're going to have to redo work history forms that will document what in fact your work history involved and particularly the tasks that were involved. So we want to make sure that we're filling out this form accurately. Now, it's not uncommon that the Social Security Administration wants additional information and that results in delay. So we'll sometimes get letters or calls from the Social Security office asking for more detail. And if they call you, you may not always pick up.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:04:05]:
 And if you don't pick up or if you don't give them that information, they may put your application on hold. And what does that do? That creates delay. The technical term for this is called an abatement. And ultimately they can say, hey, you know, we contacted you by phone, by writing, and you didn't respond. So too bad, so sad. We don't think that you want to pursue this claim and we're going to abate it. And guess what? You then you have to start all over again, which is something we don't want to do. So why is this important? Well, in addition to determining at step four whether you can go back to your past relevant work, the issue is also going to be an analysis of the past relevant work based on the information that you have supplied.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:04:53]:
 So again, they're going to look at this form and they're going to say, well, okay, well, we think you can go back to your past relevant work, but the analysis will continue at step five because at step five, the issue is going to be can you do other work in the mythical, hypothetical, not real world national economy in view of your age, education, your restrictions and your transferable skills? What on earth are transferable skills? Well, in your work you probably have learned a lot of skills, computer skills, interpersonal skills, management skills, organization skills. And the question at step five becomes, based on your restrictions, limitations, be they physical or psychiatric or a combination, can you take those skills that you've learned from your past work to other work? So if Social Security gets your past work wrong, then they can't do the transferable skills analysis at step five. Got it. Kristy, anything to add to that?
 
 Christy Monaco [00:05:51]:
 No, that's. That's great. I think it's important to make sure that you're. What you're putting on your work history form is consistent with what you're putting on all the other forms for Social Security, because that may cause an issue when you get to a hearing if you then also testify about something else that you did for past relevant work. Which makes it very hard for both the vocational witness and the administrative law judge to determine what exactly your past relevant work is.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:06:14]:
 And Kristi makes a good point, because what will often happen in the course of a hearing, if we have to go that far, is, is after we get through your name, your age, your date of birth, we get into your employment history, and the judge will have your earnings records, and they will compare what's on your earning records to what you put on your work history form. And if there's a difference, I can assure you that the judge is going to ask questions. And if the judge can't figure out what your past work is, the judge is going to ask questions about that and there'll be another witness at the hearing. That witness is a vocational evaluator, an expert in the world of work. And the judge may say, well, Mr. And Mrs. Ve, based on the work history form and based on what you've heard today, can you classify what this work is? In other words, they're asking the VE to determine what your past work is and then ultimately address the question of transferable skills. So filling out this form is really, really crucial.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:07:08]:
 Let's take a break. Got it.
 
 Speaker C [00:07:10]:
 Are you considering filing for Social Security disability or has your claim been denied already? Either way, you require a copy of your to Social Security disability benefits, which will cover everything you need to know about the Social Security disability claims process. Request your free copy of the book@kvlaw.com today.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:07:36]:
 Welcome back to Winning Isn't Easy. Christy. Let's talk about preparing to fill out the forms. What are your suggestions?
 
 Christy Monaco [00:07:44]:
 Sure. Before you begin, it is always smart to gather the information that you're going to need to fill out this form. This could include a list of all of the jobs you've held in the past five years, details about your job titles, who the employers were, and your dates of employment, and then also a description of your daily tasks, including physical, cognitive, and social demands of that occupation. Now, if you don't have all of that information, fill out as much as you can. You can write, don't know, or does not apply for questions you genuinely cannot answer. But remember, the more detail you provide, the stronger your case is going to be. Nancy, do you want to explain to them how it makes their case stronger?
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:08:23]:
 Well, there were some very significant changes in 2024. And prior to that, Social Security Administration looked at your work history for the 15 years before you became disabled. Now it's five. And they also used an outdated book called the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, which described how work was done in 1990. Things have changed a lot since 1990. And now the Social Security Administration is looking at how, in part, you actually performed your occupational duties. They want to know, based on your description, what did you do and how did you do it and how long did you do it? Did you use any equipment? And it's really crucial that you are accurate about this. We've done a series of videos for our clients about how to explain this.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:09:13]:
 We had one person who worked, for example, at Walmart, and the question was, well, do you use any computers? And the person said, no. But when you think about it, the person worked as a cash register, a cashier. And so they were using the old cash register, if you will, which is really a computerized cash register. And so they were making entries that, in fact is using a computer. So just because it isn't, quote, a computer with a screen, think about the technology that you are using and make sure that you're answering the question correctly. Don't literally take the word computer to mean computer. Think about technology. Christy, what are your thoughts about that?
 
 Christy Monaco [00:09:58]:
 No, that's perfect. And a lot of times people don't think in terms of are you printing things? Are you using, you know, the cash register tape machine, are you scanning things in? And there's a lot of equipment that is involved in a lot of occupations. So taking the time to sit down and actually write out what a day looked like from start to finish will actually help you determine what your occupational.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:10:20]:
 Duties were, in addition to writing down the equipment that you used. And many times we will look at these forms and we'll say, look, we've been to Walmart. We know how it's done. This isn't right, but please redo it. So think, please. Got it. All right, we're going to take a break and we're going to come back and give you a step by step guide for filling out SSA 3369. Let's take a break.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:10:54]:
 Welcome back to Winning Isn't Easy. We're going to talk about a step by step guide for filling out SSA 3369. And we're going to break down each section of the form. Christy, let's talk about sections one and two.
 
 Christy Monaco [00:11:08]:
 All right, section one, information about you. Pretty straightforward, pretty easy. Here's where you're going to put your name, Social Security number, and your contact details. Now, if somebody else is filling out this form for you, their details are going to go here as well. All right, section two, work history. This is the heart of your form. Here's where you're going to list every job you've held in the five years before you became unable to work. You're going to want to include job titles, the business types, and the dates you worked for each job.
 
 Christy Monaco [00:11:39]:
 Some of the things that you're going to want to describe. Number one, tasks you performed. Here's where you're going to want to be specific. For example, instead of saying something like customer service, you're going to want to describe the tasks like you answered 50 or more calls per day. You used a computer and a headset. You entered in data into a database and handled escalations. We suggest that you take out a piece of paper and write down all of the general tasks you did from the time you arrived to the time you left. Remember, we want to get to the root of what you did in an actual day of the job.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:12:15]:
 Number two, Nancy, physical activity. So you want to detail how much time you spent sitting, standing, walking, stooping, crouching and lifting. Note the amount of the weight that you lifted and how often. I want you to be honest. I want you to be realistic. This is not the place to either exaggerate or to downplay your duties. And I will tell you if your claim makes it in front of a to an administrative law judge, the judge may be asking you clarifying questions about how you perform your job. And if your answers conflict with what you wrote down on the form, the judge is going to question your credibility.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:12:50]:
 So this could make or break your case. The next part of this questionnaire wants to know about tools and equipment that you use. This could include anything from a cash register to a computer to a forklift to specialized machinery, even a basic stapler or a headset. Count tools and equipment. So as you're doing this in draft, write down the tools, write down the equipment. So if you had to tell your grandmother what tools and equipment you used, you know, think of it that way. Think about explaining this on a basic level. All right, Christy, how about interactions and reports and supervision.
 
 Christy Monaco [00:13:30]:
 Sure. So interactions is a very broad question as most jobs require some type of interaction, especially with supervisors and co workers and particularly throughout the training or probationary period. You will want to mention whether you interacted with customers, supervisors or team members and how often throughout the day. For instance, don't just say yes, you want to say Yes, I spent 75% of the day interacting with my customers and my co workers. Or maybe there's a six month training period where you were constantly with another coworker. That is an interaction. And so you want to make sure that you're talking about every interaction that you had to do on a day to day basis, including that training period and reports and supervisions. If you had to prepare reports or supervise others, you want to and need to explain the extent of your responsibilities with that duty.
 
 Christy Monaco [00:14:19]:
 Do not leave this out. We get calls weekly from Social Security to gain a additional perspective on our client's supervisory roles, despite us having completed the work history form. You want to make sure if you had any type of managerial or supervisory duties that you're responsible for, that you describe them in detail in order to avoid any delay by having them call and say they need clarification. Now here comes the million dollar question.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:14:45]:
 And that million dollar question is explain how your medical condition impacts your ability to do this particular job. Now this question sounds simple and yet we find that clients will sort of skate through this form and answer the question without thinking about it. That's not how we do things here at KV Law. We think backwards. So what on earth is this lawyer telling me to think backwards? Well, we want you to think backwards about the physical, cognitive and psychological problems that you have and why you can't do the particular activities of your job. And we want our clients to write down a list of the symptoms and draw a line from each problem to the thing that they can't do. So let's give you an example. Let's say you're a cashier and you're claiming that you're disabled because of back and leg pain.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:15:37]:
 Your back pain is constant 24,7. You have pain that radiates down your leg. And some of the problems that you could have doing your job as a cashier would be standing at a cash register for more than 10 minutes, or sitting on a stool for more than 10 minutes, or turning side to side to bag groceries or to lift items and put them on a cart, bending over to get the grocery bags, or reaching to give them to the customer. It might be that your pain Makes it really hard to concentrate and complete tasks timely. And that pain may make you irritable and hard to get along. So what you want to do is to think about this. Why? So let me give you an example. One of our clients completed a work history form just last week, and she indicated that she was a customer service representative.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:16:26]:
 She said she sat eight hours a day, she lifted less than 10 pounds, and she sat on the phone all day answering questions about Medicare. She denied using machines, tools, equipment, or using technical knowledge or doing reports. Now, look, this is common sense. I know that's wrong. I've never been a customer service representative, but I represented a lot of them, and common sense tells us that that description is wrong. So the client wears a headset. They're tethered to a commuter, a computer. She can't get up and she can't move around, and she's limited to normal breaks because the computer will pick up information about the calls, when she picked up the call, when she ended the call, whether there were any transfers.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:17:07]:
 It tracks her time and how she followed the script to give answers to the client's questions. She has to make a certain number of calls per hour and per day, or she's subject to discipline and termination. Her answers are monitored for accuracy. And they want to know, did you follow that script in the order in which you were supposed to deliver this script? Now, had she thought backwards about this, she should have gone about it differently, in our view. And so she should have begun with the fact that she's tethered with a headset to the computer and how she can't get up and walk around to relieve her back pain because she's also keyboarding. She might have wanted to explain how being in a static position without being able to move side to side impacted her concentration. And of course, she has to be nice and friendly and stay on script. So she wanted to talk about the difficulty she would have doing that.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:18:14]:
 And of course, she needed to describe the equipment that she used. So she's got the headset on, she's got the computer. She had to have a technical knowledge of Medicare, and she had to have a working knowledge, a great working knowledge of customer service. So you can see that this form is really important because you want to describe the actual job duties as you did them. Think about the symptoms that you have and make this analysis. What symptom do I have that prevents me from doing this particular duty? And explain it. Think about the equipment that you needed to use and the problems that you would have using it think about the technical or professional duties, the customer service, dealing with the customer, preparing reports. And so you can see that all of this is really important.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:19:06]:
 And the. The job description that she gave was wholly inadequate. Got it. Christy, do you have any comments about that?
 
 Christy Monaco [00:19:15]:
 Yeah, I think it's important to keep in mind that Social Security is not really going to do a lot of extra digging. Right. So when they received that work history report from our client, they said, okay, customer service representative, no equipment. Well, it's incorrect. And if they would have taken the time to think about it, they would have also understood that it was incorrect. But they're not going to do that, especially at DDS at the initial and the recon stage. So that's why it's important to fully and accurately and put as much detail into these work history reports as possible because you never want to rely on Social Security to essentially do their job. We want to do the job for them and provide the claim on a silver platter so that they don't have to do much thinking.
 
 Christy Monaco [00:19:57]:
 And we say, yes, there are is equipment involved, there are tools, she is tethered to a computer. She can't get up and change. That's going to get her off pace and production requirements. And you would think they would understand that, but they don't. So it's important to take the time. You know, hopefully you only have to fill this out once, but if not, keep a copy of it. If you have to redo it, really fill it out because you want to make sure you get it right the first time so that Social Security doesn't have any additional questions. Because if they don't ask the questions, they're never going to know.
 
 Christy Monaco [00:20:26]:
 Had Social Security or had this woman not come to us, Social Security would have thought that her customer service representative job did not include any tools, but it did.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:20:35]:
 I want you to think about it this way. Your medical record should be telling the story of your symptoms and functionality. Your work history form should be telling the story of how you brought your unique skills and talents and performed this job based on how your employer required you to do it or how you modified it. So you are telling your story about how you performed this. Now, section three is remarks. And I think this is an opportunity to provide additional information that didn't fit in section two. We want you to use this space wisely. I want you to describe the cognitive and the social challenges related to your job.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:21:14]:
 So as the customer service representative with chronic pain, she probably had difficulty concentrating on the cognitive tasks of customer service listening to the question, answering the question, and then answering it in a helpful manner without being irritated or short tempered. So you want to explain the cognitive duties and you want to explain the social duties. Now also remember, you might be having side effects of medication that impact your ability to meet the job requirements. And so if your cognition is impacted because of medication, you want to address that. Same way, if the medication makes you irritable or grouchy or depressed, you want to make sure that that information is in the remarks section. The last section is section four. Who's completing this report? If somebody helped you, that information goes there. And if you filled it out by yourself, just mark that appropriately.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:22:14]:
 Got it? Let's take a break.
 
 Speaker C [00:22:19]:
 Struggling with your Social Security disability case? The right attorney can make all the difference. Get our booklet the key to hiring a great attorney for your Social Security disability case. Discover how to find an experienced attorney who will fight for your rights and navigate the process with ease. Don't leave your future to chance. Request your free copy@kvlaw.com to today and ensure you have the expert support you deserve.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:22:47]:
 Welcome back to Winning Isn't Easy. Let's talk about tips for success. Christy, what are your suggestions?
 
 Christy Monaco [00:22:55]:
 All right, so now that we've given you the basics, we're going to talk about some pro tips that might strengthen your submission of your work history report. Number one. Like Nancy said, think backwards. Start with your medical condition and think about how they limit you in each aspect of your job. For example, if you're a cashier, like she said, you have chronic back pain. Think about how standing, bending, lifting would be affected, the tools you're using, and how any side effects of medication may be affecting you doing that job. 2. Be thorough and honest.
 
 Christy Monaco [00:23:25]:
 Don't exaggerate your limitations, but don't underestimate them either. You want to describe your job as you actually performed it, not as it might be in a generic listing. Now this is important because as we've said in this episode and the last two episodes, when your forms aren't consistent and then your forms aren't consistent with your testimony, should you make it to a hearing that shoots up red flags to the administrative law judge and it starts to ask them, is this witness credible? And then they don't know what to believe. So make sure that you are honest, thorough, and you don't exaggerate or underestimate any of your conditions or your limitations. Section 3 We want to leverage this section. This is where we want to use this section to explain why your medical conditions make it Impossible to perform any of the jobs that you've held in the last five years. Remember to highlight your physical, cognitive, and social challenges with each of those occupations. Number four, avoid generic descriptions.
 
 Christy Monaco [00:24:23]:
 Phrases like answered calls or heavy lifting does not tell the full story, and nobody at Social Security knows what that means. So be specific about exactly how long you can stand or sit or the tools and techniques that you spent on each task. And number five, get help if needed. Completing this form and any other form for Social Security can be overwhelming. So don't hesitate to ask a trusted friend, family member, or call us or any other legal assistant for assistance.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:24:50]:
 Great suggestions. Let's take a break. Foreign welcome back to Winning Isn't Easy. Let's talk about common pitfalls to avoid. Now, we want you to get your Social Security disability benefits as quickly as possible. And we've emphasized that while we can't speed up the process, filling out these forms appropriately and accurately can make it easier for DDS at the initial stage and the request for reconsideration stage to make an accurate and complete decision once they get the file. And it also can be important if we end up in front of a Social Security judge. So what are some of the mistakes that steer clear that you should be steering clear of? Okay, the first one is, remember when you ran home and kind of blew through your homework so you could go out and do whatever it is you wanted to do, hang out with your friends, whatever.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:25:55]:
 Don't blow through this form. This is not a race. We want you to take the time to fill this out accurately and completely. Number two, have you ever taken an exam and you kind of skipped your way through and you left sections blank? Well, you got a zero. You're going to get a zero on your Social Security application if you leave sections blank. If you don't know the answer, complete it to the best of your ability. But no blanks. The other thing that we see people do commonly is that they overlook the cognitive and social demands of their job.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:26:32]:
 They only think about the physical duties, sitting, standing, bending, lifting. But they don't think about the brain that they have to use. They don't think about the social skills that they use. And so while physical tasks are important, we want you to be discussing your cognitive and your social demand requirements of your job in these forms. The other form of problem that we see, amazingly to me, is people ignore technology. Now, technology is literally everywhere in our lives. But maybe we're just so used to it that we don't think about it. Think about it.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:27:10]:
 If you are using software, tools or equipment, you want to include those details. So think about it. Are you using computer applications? Are you using very specialized tools or just generic tools like you got to staple 150 things a day? I know that sounds silly, but think about the tools that you use, the basic tools, the more complex tools. Think about the software that you might be using or the programs that you might be using. Think about those, because those are important, particularly in if you're having problems with cognition because of side effects of medication or pain. Got it. Those are some of the common pitfalls that we think you should avoid. Christy, do you have any to add?
 
 Christy Monaco [00:27:57]:
 No. I mean, I think you nailed it on the head.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:28:00]:
 Great. Well, that's a wrap for today's episode on filling out work history forms. We know that it can seem daunting, but with preparation and attention to detail, I think that you can submit a strong report that accurately reflects your work history and limitations, giving Social Security a clear picture of what your past relevant work is. Remember, we want this form to tell the story of your difficulties, your work, what you do, the way that you specifically do it, the way your employer may have modified it for you, and particularly what those specific duties are that you're having trouble with, the equipment that you're using. All those details. Those details matter now. If you have any questions or you want personalized guidance, please reach out to our office. If you've enjoyed this episode, as I hope you have, and if you've learned lots, which I hope you have, please like this episode, please share it.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:28:56]:
 And of course, subscribe to our podcast so that you can get more tips on navigating the Social Security disability claims process. Thanks for watching. SA.