SSA’s Concerns Regarding O*NET
SSA has determined through contracted research and through further investigation that
O*NET, as it currently exists, cannot be used in SSA’s disability determination process
(see Bibliography of research and investigations following).
It must be recognized that DOL’s O*NET development staffs have faced and met an
enormous challenge in the development of O*NET. The O*NET is a suitable tool for the
nation’s Workforce Investment Act initiatives, including career development and
exploration. SSA’s concerns regarding O*NET as outlined below are a reflection of how
the needs of SSA’s disability programs and those of private sector vocational
rehabilitation professionals differ from those of career development and exploration.
Therefore, to the extent that SSA’s observations appear as a critique of the current
O*NET, they are intended only to explain why SSA cannot use O*NET, or data based
upon O*NET, in the disability evaluation process.
SSA’s investigation has revealed these areas of concern that have led SSA to conclude
that it cannot use O*NET as it currently exists: