Disability Examiner

Overview

Job Description

The Iowa Disability Determination Services (DDS) Bureau’s mission is to provide accurate and timely Social Security Administration disability determinations. To accomplish our mission, we need talented, passionate people working together to make this a reality. The Bureau is currently seeking to hire Disability Examiner’s to fill this role.

Disability Examiner Description Of Duties

In this position your responsibilities include:

• Manage the ongoing development of disability claims and perform comprehensive review.
• Determine appropriate jurisdictions and develop the case through contact with applicant, medical sources, schools, employers, governmental agencies and decide the most effective way to provide information.
• Read incoming evidence.
  
  

Examples Include:

• Review all evidence that comes in electronically.
• Analyze evidence to determine if it is sufficient to make a disability determination according to Social Security rules.
• Able to make judgments based on signs, symptoms, and laboratory findings about the presence, onset, impairment severity, and prognosis of any physical or mental impairment alleged.
• Follow up on information that is not received in a timely manner.
• Clarify information and resolve inconsistencies that become apparent in the evidence.
• Consult with lead worker, supervisor, or medical consultant, i.e. physician, psychologists, speech-language pathologist about sufficiency of evidence and severity of medical impairments.
• Order consultative medical examination if evidence of record is not sufficient to make a determination.
• Create a summary of cases that includes significant medical and non-medical issues to be addressed by a medical consultant.
  
  

The Successful Candidate Will:

• Review Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) to assure program requirements.
• Consult with medical consultants on issues on RFC to ensure they are sufficient or programmatically correct.
• Refer RFC issues to supervisor or lead working and assist in writing RFC’s for simple cases, and answer questions about case status and disability programs for claimants and appointed representatives.
• Make determination when evidence is sufficient to document the case and required medical assessments are complete of disability according to the evaluation process defined in regulations:
• Verifies claimant is not engaging in SGA.
• Determine if impairment is “severe.”
• Determines if impairment meets or equals listings of impairment.
• Determines if claimant can do past relevant work.
• Determine if claimant can do other work.
• Identify claimant’s past relevant work in Dictionary of Occupational Title when required and compare physical and mental demand of past relevant work to residual functional capacity assessment to determine if claimant can return to the same type of work, they have done previously.
• Refer cases to a Disability Examiner Specialist or Lead Worker to perform complex vocational analysis, i.e., determine if work skills are transferable to their work and reference specific jobs claimants can do.
• In favorable determinations, decide appropriate date disability began with consideration of work activity, medical history, and other factors.
• Complete determination forms and write personalized explanation of determination for claimant in unfavorable decisions.
• Entry level begins with adult initial claims. As proficiency increase you will learn to process child disability claims: Reconsideration (first leave of appeal), then Continuing Disability Review cases.
• Attend to specific issues on claims.
  
  

Examples Include:

• Jurisdiction
• Type of disability claim.
• Alleged onset of disability.
• Alleged impairments.
• Verify for any prior applications.
• Date last insured.
• Presence of appointed representatives.
• Appropriate medical or other sources to contact for evidence.
• Contact claimant or claimant representative or SSA Claims Representative to clarify information.
  
  

Consider whether Presumptive Disability should be done, i.e., allow the claim for temporary period while DDS documents the claim. Review evidence, if prior file(s) are available, that is pertinent to current claim or requests prior from SSA. On reconsideration cases, review initial determination in entirety to determine if the initial decision can be either affirmed or reversed on the record. If it can't be affirmed or reversed, develop new evidence similar to initial claim. Apply legal concepts of rules of evidence, administrative finality, Collateral Estoppel, due process, Res Judicata, and disclosure of evidence under the Federal Privacy and Freedom of Information Acts.

Candidates must pass Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12, Tier 2 for credentialing and suitability for employment and for logical and physical access.

Benefits

Joining the Iowa Disability Determination Services team and becoming a State of Iowa employee comes with a range of valuable benefits, including:

• Excellent health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Generous paid time off, including nine paid holidays, vacation, and sick leave with no cap on the sick leave accrual.
• Prepare for the future with the IPERS retirement package, as well as an additional optional deferred compensation retirement plan.
• Flexible Spending Accounts for medical and dependent care.
• Free Life and Long-term Disability Insurance with the option to purchase additional coverage.
• Employee Assistance Programs and Discount Programs for support.
  
  

Click here to learn more about all of the amazing benefits the State of Iowa offers.

Our agency uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.e-verify.gov .

No applicant seeking employment with the Iowa Disability Determination Services can have a current, ongoing overpayment balance with Iowa Workforce Development without a payment plan in place. Select positions will be subject to a criminal background check.

Minimum Qualification Requirements

Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university;

OR

experience equal to four years of full-time work making disability determinations in the Social Security disability program.

For additional information, please click on this link to view the job description.