United States District Court, E.D. Arkansas, Western Division
JENNIFER L. TREADAWAY PLAINTIFF
v.
NANCY A. BERRYHILL, Deputy Commissioner for Operations, performing the duties and functions not reserved to the Commissioner of Social Security DEFENDANT
RECOMMENDED DISPOSITION
The
following Recommended Disposition
(“Recommendation”) has been sent to United States
District Judge Susan Webber Wright. You may file written
objections to all or part of this Recommendation. If you do
so, those objections must: (1) specifically explain the
factual and/or legal basis for your objections; and (2) be
received by the Clerk of this Court within fourteen (14) days
of this Recommendation. By not objecting, you may waive the
right to appeal questions of fact.
I.
Introduction:
Plaintiff,
Jennifer L. Treadaway (“Treadaway”), applied for
disability benefits on September 29, 2015, alleging
disability beginning on September 30, 2013. (Tr. at 20).
After conducting a hearing, the Administrative Law Judge
(“ALJ”) denied her application. (Tr. at 32). The
Appeals Council denied her request for review. (Tr. at 1).
Thus, the ALJ's decision now stands as the final decision
of the Commissioner.
For the
reasons stated below, the Commissioner's decision should
be affirmed.
II.
The Commissioner=s Decision:
The ALJ
found that Treadaway had not engaged in substantial gainful
activity since the alleged onset date of September 30, 2013.
(Tr. at 23). At Step Two, the ALJ found that Treadaway has
the following severe impairments: trichotillomania,
depressive disorder, and anxiety disorder. (Tr. at 24).
After
finding that Treadaway's impairment did not meet or equal
a listed impairment (Tr. at 24), the ALJ determined that
Treadaway had the residual functional capacity
(“RFC”) to perform the full range of work at all
exertional levels, except that: (1) she is limited to work
where interpersonal contact is incidental to the work
performed and where the complexity of tasks is learned and
performed by rote, with few variables and little judgment;
and (2) she is limited to work where the supervision required
is simple, direct, and concrete. (Tr. at 25).
The ALJ
found that, based on his RFC, Treadaway was unable to perform
any past relevant work. (Tr. at 30). At Step Five, the ALJ
relied on the testimony of a Vocational Expert
("VE") to find that, based on Treadaway's age,
education, work experience and RFC, jobs existed in
significant numbers in the national economy that she could
perform, including work as a hand packager, an industrial
cleaner, and a general production helper. (Tr. at 31). Thus,
the ALJ found that Treadaway was not disabled. Id.
III.
Discussion:
A.
Standard of Review
The
Court's function on review is to determine whether the
Commissioner's decision is supported by substantial
evidence on the record as a whole and whether it is based on
legal error. Miller v. Colvin, 784 F.3d 472, 477
(8th Cir. 2015); see also 42 U.S.C. §
405(g). While “substantial evidence” is that
which a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a
conclusion, “substantial evidence on the record as a
whole” requires a court to engage in a more
scrutinizing analysis:
“[O]ur review is more than an examination of the record
for the existence of substantial evidence in support of the
Commissioner's decision; we also take into account
whatever in the record fairly detracts from that
decision.” Reversal is not warranted, however,
“merely because substantial evidence would have
supported an opposite decision.”
Reed v. Barnhart, 399 F.3d 917, 920 (8th Cir. 2005)
(citations omitted).
It is
not the task of this Court to review the evidence and make an
independent decision. Neither is it to reverse the decision
of the ALJ because there is evidence in the record which
contradicts his findings. The test is whether there is
substantial evidence in the ...