Gerald Government v. Astrue

Gerald Government applied for Social Security disability insurance benefits and supplemental security income payments, claiming that he was unable to work due primarily to fatigue related to Graves disease, anemia, and vision problems. After conducting a hearing an Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") denied benefits, relying on testimony by a vocational expert ("VE") to find that, though Government could not return to his past work, he could perform a significant number of other available jobs. On review by the district court, the court found that substantial evidence supported the ALJs conclusion. In this appeal, Government challenges the ALJs reliance on the VEs testimony. We will discuss the record that was before the ALJ prior to addressing those contentions.