What Is the Dictionary of Occupational Titles in LTD Claims?

When you are fighting to receive disability benefits, you may hear reference to the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, or DOT. The above video mentions this as a source of vocational definitions.

The DOT is a database that identifies and defines the skills and knowledge a person needs to normally perform an occupation in the U.S. economy.

DOT is actually no longer updated – in fact, the last update was in 1999. Information now is often sourced from the Occupational Information Network (O*Net) – which technically replaces the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT). As you can see, each database links to the other as a shared source.

Both DOT and O*Net are published by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The DOT was first published in 1938 – during a time of blue-collar and industrial growth.

Much of the occupational information in the DOT reflects this. O*Net was published in 1998, adapting the information of DOT and other libraries, but also began to focus on IT and other contemporary and service-related industries.

Each database is a tremendous source of occupational information. Another purpose for the development of O*Net is to serve the working world. It clarifies and ensures that workers, employers, potential employees, job instructors and others speak to each other concerning thousands of occupations—all using a common language.

Even though the last update was over 16 years ago, insurance companies still use DOT specifications (as well as O*Net) in their assessment of disability claims. As long as this is the case, the Dictionary of Occupational Titles remains a very relevant resource for most disability claims.

For a free legal consultation, call 800-562-9830

How Does the Dictionary of Occupational Titles Affect My Disability Claim?

Insurance providers use the DOT and O*Net to assess the knowledge, skills, abilities, preparation, and tasks associated with performing your occupation.

One element sought by insurers to help assess your degree of disability is the level of exertion required to perform your job. The DOT applies five levels of exertion to classify different occupations. Each is based on the amount of strength required to do each job.

Strength / exertion ratings are:

1. sedentary
2. light
3. medium
4. heavy
5. very heavy

Case law shows that the courts allow insurance companies to cite the Dictionary of Occupational Titles in their determination of the material duties of a claimant’s occupation.

However, insurers can be very resourceful in using some occupational descriptions in ways that support a denial of disability. One can imagine how an understated job description may not describe the actual extent or nature of strength or exertion routinely required to perform your job.

Also, if an insurer does not find an exact match of job title in the DOT, they may selectively use a similar job description – often to their advantage. Still in other cases, an insurer may attempt to use the DOT to determine your job requirements, instead of acknowledging the actual job description you and your employer provided in your claim information.

The takeaway here is that, while DOT and O*Net are very instrumental in defining occupations for purposes of insurance claims, insurance carriers may distort DOT job definitions and a claimant’s daily job requirements. Thereby the insurer creates “reason” to deny the claim—based on imprecise occupational information.

All in all, the Dictionary of Occupational Titles is very involved in on-going disability claims.

Questions? Give Us a Call

If you are facing claim denial, you can increase your chances of success by speaking with our disability attorneys. Call us for a free case evaluation. You can bet that our team is armed and ready for any misapplication of these or other databases by your insurance provider.

Call or text 800-562-9830 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form