USCA1 Opinion

March 29, 1996

[NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
____________________

No. 95-1795

BARBARA CONCEPCION-MORALES,

Plaintiff, Appellant,

v.

COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY,

Defendant, Appellee.

____________________

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO

[Hon. Jose Antonio Fuste, U.S. District Judge]

___________________

____________________

Before

Torruella, Chief Judge,

___________
Boudin and Stahl, Circuit Judges.
______________

____________________

Juan A. Hernandez Rivera and Raymond Rivera Esteves on brief

________________________
_______________________
appellant.
Guillermo Gil,
______________

United

States Attorney,

Maria Hortensia Ri
____________________

Gandara, Assistant United States Attorney, and Sara Gardiner Kilken

_______
____________________
Attorney,
appellee.

Region

I, Social

Security

Administration,

on brief

____________________

____________________

Per Curiam.
__________

Claimant Jose Gonzalez

appeals a district

court order that upheld a decision by the Commissioner of the

Social

Security

Administration

that

denied

claimant's

application for child's disability benefits.

402(d)(1).

Claimant, who was

application, alleged that

retardation since

the

district

court

filed his initial

he suffered from

birth.1
1

record and the parties'

18 when he

See 42 U.S.C.
___

disabling mental

We have thoroughly

briefs on appeal.

was

correct

We

in

reviewed the

conclude that

concluding

that

Commissioner's decision is supported by substantial evidence.

We add the following comments.

1.

support

Claimant's contention

the

ALJ's

conclusion

that

that

the

he

record does

is

able

to

not

work

independently without close supervision is belied by the fact

that claimant adduced

no evidence to
__

show that he

required

special supervision to perform any of the part time jobs that

he had done

in the past.

To be

sure, claimant's

teachers

reported that he required "direct supervision" to perform and

complete tasks

claimant was

in the vocational soldering

enrolled.

But this

does

program in which

not establish

that

____________________

1We
1

note

claimant's

that
mother,

the

named

plaintiff

son's

behalf.

this

Barbara Concepcion-Morales.

disability application was based

she completed

in

case

is

Claimant's

on her earnings record, and

the disability claim application forms on her

As claimant

Gonzalez is

the real

interest, we speak of him as the sole appellant.

party in

claimant

requires

close

supervision

to

perform

simple

unskilled work.2
2

2.

claimant

unskilled

The

ALJ implicitly relied on the Grid

was

work

capable

at all

of

the

full

exertional

range

levels.

to find that

of

See
___

skilled and

Ortiz
_____

v.

Secretary of Health and Human Services, 890 F.2d 520, 524 n.

________________________________________

4 (1st Cir. 1989).

it pertains

to

This conclusion is supportable insofar as

unskilled work.

The evidence

shows

that

claimant had at most moderate limitations in his ability meet

the

basic demands of unskilled

been

preferable

testimony, the

retardation

unskilled

for

ALJ

record suggests

did

work

particularly

the

work.3
3

to

While

have

it would have

taken

that claimant's mild

not

significantly

diminish

the

that

is otherwise

available

to

given

the

fact

vocational

that

this

mental

base

of

claimant,

claimant

has

no
__

exertional limitations.

3. Contrary

to claimant's

argument on appeal,

the ALJ

did not impermissibly find that claimant's impairment was not

severe

within the

meaning of

step two

in contrast

to the

____________________

2Similarly,
2
ability

to
to

while

learn
learn

supervision appeared

Dr.

Cabiya

simple

reported

repetitive

that claimant's

task

appropriate, he did not

under

close

say that close

supervision was required for claimant to continuously perform

simple

unskilled jobs.

The record suggests that this is not

the case.

3See SSR
3___
ability

to

85-15 (basic
carry

out

demands of unskilled
simply

appropriately to supervision and

changes in work setting).

-4-

instructions,

work include
to

respond

coworkers, and to deal with

opinions of the Commissioner's

PRTF contained

impairment,

otherwise.

the

ratings

consultants.

that correspond

remainder

of

the

with

ALJ's

While the ALJ's

non-severe

opinion

holds

Under these circumstances, we disregard the ALJ's

contrary ratings. See Ortiz, 890 F.2d at 525 n. 6.

___ _____

Affirmed.
________

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