No. 17-1184October Term 2018Decided Apr 1, 2019
Biestek v. Berryhill
This case was about a Social Security disability benefits hearing in which an administrative law judge relied on a vocational expert’s testimony about jobs the claimant could still do, even though the expert refused to turn over the survey data behind her job-number estimates.
Case status
- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released Apr 1, 2019
- What it's about
This case was about a Social Security disability benefits hearing in which an administrative law judge relied on a vocational expert’s testimony about jobs the claimant could still do, even though the expert refused to turn over the survey data behind her job-number estimates. The Supreme Court decided that such testimony is not automatically disqualified and can still count as substantial evidence, depending on the circumstances of the case.
Question presented
Whether a vocational expert's testimony can constitute substantial evidence of "other work," 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520(a)(4)(v), available to an applicant for social security benefits on the basis of a disability, when the expert fails upon the applicant's request to provide the underlying data on which that testimony is premised.
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit / Decision released Apr 1, 2019
- Area
Decided Supreme Court case
Timing
Decided April 1, 2019
The Court released its decision on April 1, 2019 without hearing oral argument.
Related cases
Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary-source trail available.
- Note
- Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Jun 1, 2026
- Method
- Methodology