How Can Applicants Prove Their Disability Prevents Substantial Work Activity?
Proving that a disability prevents substantial work activity requires more than showing that you have a serious medical condition or have stopped working. You must show how your impairment affects your ability to perform job duties, maintain a reliable schedule, and meet workplace expectations.
You can support your claim with detailed descriptions of your previous jobs, medical findings explaining your restrictions, records of unsuccessful attempts to return to work, and evidence showing how your condition affects your ability to function consistently.
At Leavitt Meunier Law LLC in Metairie, Louisiana, we help people seeking Social Security Disability benefits establish how their physical or mental impairments interfere with employment. We can review your work history, identify evidence related to your limitations, and help present your case to the Social Security Administration (SSA). Contact us to schedule a time to talk.
Understand What the SSA Considers Substantial Gainful Activity
The SSA uses the term substantial gainful activity (SGA) to describe work involving significant physical or mental activities that is ordinarily performed for pay or profit. Your earnings are an important starting point when the agency evaluates whether you are engaging in SGA.
In 2026, the monthly SGA earnings amount is $1,690 for people who are not statutorily blind and $2,830 for people who are statutorily blind.
However, the amount you earn does not always tell the whole story. The SSA may consider factors such as impairment-related work expenses, employer subsidies, and special working conditions when determining whether your earnings demonstrate substantial gainful activity.
Earning below the applicable threshold does not automatically establish disability, either. Even if you are unemployed or earning relatively little, the agency must still determine whether your medical conditions prevent you from performing work under its disability rules.
Your impairment generally must also have lasted, or be expected to last, at least 12 continuous months or result in death.
Describe the Actual Demands of Your Previous Jobs
An accurate account of your employment history helps the SSA evaluate whether you can return to work you performed before becoming disabled.
Under current SSA rules, past relevant work generally involves qualifying employment performed within the preceding five years. Work that began and ended in fewer than 30 calendar days does not qualify as past relevant work.
The agency considers both how you actually performed a job and how that occupation is generally performed in the national economy.
When completing your work history report, describe what your duties involved rather than relying only on your job title. Useful details may include:
How frequently you lifted, carried, pushed, or pulled objects
How much time you spent standing, walking, or sitting
Whether the job required repetitive movements or fine motor skills
The level of concentration, accuracy, or decision-making expected
The pace of work and frequency of interaction with others
For example, a warehouse supervisor might spend much of the day moving inventory rather than sitting at a desk. Describing those physical demands can help the SSA understand the work the applicant actually performed.
Provide accurate information about these duties and any changes you made because of your condition. Our attorneys can help clarify your employment history when preparing or appealing a disability claim.
Explain Whether You Can Sustain Work Activities Consistently
The SSA evaluates your residual functional capacity (RFC), which describes the most you can still do despite limitations caused by your medically established impairments.
An RFC assessment generally considers your ability to perform work activities on a regular and continuing basis, ordinarily eight hours a day, five days a week, or an equivalent schedule. Different considerations can apply to certain past part-time work.
This makes consistent functioning important. You might be able to complete a physical task once but struggle to repeat it throughout a workday. Similarly, you may concentrate effectively for short periods but struggle to maintain attention when symptoms worsen.
Explain whether your condition affects your ability to:
Complete tasks without frequent interruptions
Maintain concentration and an acceptable work pace
Remain in one position or perform repeated movements
Attend work consistently
Respond to routine workplace changes
Complete activities without additional rest or recovery time
Your description should explain the frequency and extent of these difficulties.
Daily activities can also provide relevant context. For instance, preparing a simple meal with frequent breaks does not necessarily show you can perform similar tasks continuously at work. However, the SSA can consider everyday activities when evaluating your reported limitations, so provide a complete and accurate account of what you do and any assistance you need.
Address Whether You Could Perform Other Work
Showing that you cannot return to your previous job may not be enough to establish disability.
If the SSA determines that you cannot perform your past relevant work, it generally evaluates whether you could adjust to other work that exists in significant numbers in the national economy.
The agency considers your RFC alongside vocational factors such as your age, education, and work experience. It may also consider whether skills acquired in previous employment could transfer to another occupation.
For example, someone whose physical restrictions prevent heavy lifting may be evaluated for less physically demanding work. However, additional limitations involving concentration, hand use, prolonged sitting, or reliable attendance could affect the types of jobs that person can perform.
The assessment concerns your ability to meet the requirements of other work, not whether a particular employer would hire you or whether suitable vacancies exist near your home.
For this reason, you should consider the combined effects of your impairments rather than evaluating each restriction in isolation.
If your claim reaches a hearing, vocational testimony may help determine whether SSA-identified jobs are compatible with the limitations established by the evidence.
Speak With Our Louisiana Attorneys About Your Disability Claim
At Leavitt Meunier Law LLC, we help applicants pursuing Social Security Disability benefits show how their medical restrictions affect their ability to perform their previous job and other work.
Our attorneys review work histories, assess supporting evidence, and prepare clients to address questions about their functional capacity at disability hearings.
Attorney Melanie A. Leavitt has represented individuals with disabilities since 1989. Attorney Adam M. Meunier began analyzing medical records and preparing disability appeal arguments as a law clerk in 1991, before becoming a licensed attorney in 2002. Both attorneys take an active role in reviewing clients' cases.
If the SSA has determined that you can still work despite your condition, contact our Metairie office to discuss your claim and available options.