Mills v. Social Security Administration Commissioner

Filing 15

ORDER adopting as corrected 12 Report and Recommendations. Judgment will be entered accordingly. Signed by Honorable P. K. Holmes, III on August 15, 2017. (mjm)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
FORT SMITH DIVISION
JULIE A. MILLS
v.

PLAINTIFF
No. 2:16-CV-02209

NANCY A. BERRYHILL, Commissioner,
Social Security Administration

DEFENDANT
ORDER

The Court has received a report and recommendation (Doc. 12) from United States
Magistrate Judge Mark E. Ford.

Plaintiff has filed objections (Doc. 14).

The Magistrate

recommends that the Court affirm the ALJ’s decision and dismiss Plaintiff’s complaint with
prejudice.

The Court has conducted de novo review of those portions of the report and

recommendation to which Plaintiff has objected. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1).
Plaintiff correctly points out that the report and recommendation contains a factual error
on page 17. The vocational expert did not identify 20,566 positions in the national economy but
12,562. 1 (Doc. 9, p. 461). This miscalculation does not require departure from the legal analysis
or conclusions in the report and recommendation. The vocational expert may look to the national
economy to determine whether job opportunities exist in significant numbers—the relevant
“region” is not limited to a claimant’s state or local area, and at least 10,000 jobs in the national
economy is not an insignificant number. Dressel v. Califano, 558 F.2d 504, 508–09 (8th Cir. 1977)
(holding that issue is not whether local job opportunities exist but whether job opportunities exist
in the national economy); Johnson v. Chater, 108 F.3d 178, 180 (8th Cir. 1997) (holding that
showing of 10,000 jobs in the national economy is sufficiently significant number).

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The vocational expert identified 8,004 callout operator jobs and 4,558 surveillancesystems monitor jobs in the national economy.
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With the exception of highlighting the correct number of job opportunities, Plaintiff’s
objections offer neither law nor fact requiring departure from the Magistrate’s findings. The report
and recommendation is otherwise proper and is ADOPTED AS CORRECTED.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the decision of the Commissioner of the Social
Security Administration to deny Plaintiff’s claim for supplemental security income is AFFIRMED
and this case is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. Judgment will be entered accordingly.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 15th day of August, 2017.

/s/P. K. Holmes, III
P.K. HOLMES, III
CHIEF U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE

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