Gentle v. Barnhart

The administrative law judge denied Nicole Gentles application for social security disability benefits on the ground that although she has a severe impairment, she is capable of doing her former work, as a supermarket delicatessen worker and school lunchroom attendant, which she left in 2001 when she became pregnant with her second child. That child was 11 months old at the time of the hearing, and Gentle, who is not married, takes care of the child at home; her other child, a four year old, is at preschool. Her severe impairment is pain, which makes it difficult for her to stand, walk, sit, or lift her 25-pound 11-month old. The cause of the pain is spinal disk disease. She also has rather serious allergies and is a "slow learner" with difficulty concentrating. The administrative law judge asked a vocational expert who had reviewed Gentles file and listened to her testimony to assume that she was unable to lift more than 10 pounds frequently or 20 pounds occasionally, to perform "postural movements" such as bending and turning, more than occasionally, to concentrate on complex tasks, or to work in the presence of pulmonary irritants and extremes of temperature or humidity. The vocational expert opined that a person with these disabilities could nevertheless perform Gentles former work as a delicatessen worker or lunchroom attendant, though she acknowledged that someone who missed work a couple of days every month or had to rest two hours during every workday would not be capable of doing Gentles former work, or indeed capable of any full-time gainful employment.