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We propose amending our education category Illiterate or unable to communicate in English to Illiterate, and we propose to clarify our guidelines regarding how we will evaluate work experience for persons characterized as Illiterate when we determine whether that person is disabled.

We use the education category in our medical-vocational guidelines in appendix 2 to subpart P of part 404 of our regulations (Appendix 2). The medical-vocational guidelines direct or provide a framework for disability determinations and decisions at the final step in our sequential evaluation process. We propose clarifying that we consider a person Illiterate when he or she is unable to read or write in any language. 

Under this revised definition of Illiterate, we propose clarifying our guidelines on how we evaluate previous work experience for persons who are Illiterate when we decide whether a person is disabled. These proposed clarifications ensure our guidelines clearly reflect our longstanding policy in 404.1565(a) and 416.965(a). If a person has skilled or semiskilled work experience, but cannot use those skills in other work (i.e., the skills are not transferable to other work), the person’s ability to adjust to other work is no greater than if he or she had only unskilled work experience. The proposed revisions will clarify how we evaluate a person’s ability to adjust to other work if his or her education category is Illiterate by identifying which medical-vocational guidelines apply given these case facts.

Statement of Need:

When we promulgated the existing vocational framework, we judged that illiteracy or inability to communicate in English was a vocational adversity in adjusting to other work. We proposed amending our education category "Illiterate or unable to communicate in English" to "Illiterate" and clarifying that what we mean by "Illiterate" is inability to read and write in any language.  This would eliminate the false equivalence between "inability to communicate in English" and illiteracy, while retaining "Illiterate" in any language as a vocational disadvantage.

Summary of the Legal Basis:

Section 205(a) of the Act and, by reference to section 205(a), section 1631(d)(1) provide that "...[t]he Commissioner of Social Security shall have full power and authority to make rules and regulations and to establish procedures, not inconsistent with the provisions of this title, which are necessary or appropriate to carry out such provisions, and shall adopt reasonable and proper rules and regulations to regulate and provide for the nature and extent of the proofs and evidence and the method of taking and furnishing the same in order to establish the right to benefits  hereunder."

Alternatives:

Undetermined at this time.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

Undetermined at this time.

Risks:

For disability determinations and decisions for people living in countries who do not have English as their official language, we are currently required to use guidelines for people who are "illiterate or unable to communicate in English," even when English is not the official language of the country in which the person lives.