NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS AUG 8 2018
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
RANDY CLAWSON, No. 16-35681
Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 1:15-cv-00760-PA
v.
MEMORANDUM *
NANCY A. BERRYHILL, Acting
Commissioner Social Security,
Defendant-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Oregon
Owen M. Panner, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted August 3, 2018**
Before: GOODWIN, LEAVY, and SILVERMAN, Circuit Judges.
Randy Clawson appeals the district court’s judgment affirming the
Commissioner of Social Security’s denial of Clawson’s application for disability
insurance benefits under Titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act. We have
jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). We review de novo,
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
Attmore v. Colvin, 827 F.3d 872, 875 (9th Cir. 2016), and we affirm.
The ALJ properly found that Clawson’s spinal impairment did not equal
Listing 1.04B because Clawson did not establish symptoms and laboratory findings
equal in severity and duration to the characteristics of that listing. See Tackett v.
Apfel, 180 F.3d 1094, 1099 (9th Cir. 1999) (claimant “must establish symptoms,
signs and laboratory findings ‘at least equal in severity and duration’ to the
characteristics of a . . . listed impairment . . . or . . . the listed impairment ‘most
like’ the claimant’s impairment” (citation omitted)).
The Appeals Council properly considered the October 2013 disability
opinion from the treating physician and the medical imaging results that Clawson
submitted after the hearing. See Brewes v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec. Admin., 682 F.3d
1157, 1162 (9th Cir. 2012). Considering this new evidence, the ALJ’s decision
remains supported by substantial evidence.
Even if the ALJ erred in discounting Clawson’s testimony concerning the
extent of his symptoms and their limiting effects, any error was harmless. The
ALJ cited the requisite two-step framework and cited specific, clear, and
convincing reasons for discounting portions of his testimony: inconsistencies
between Clawson’s alleged symptoms and daily activities, and a lack of supporting
objective medical evidence. See Treichler v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec. Admin., 775
F.3d 1090, 1102 (9th Cir. 2014). Any error in relying on Clawson’s continued
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smoking and receipt of unemployment benefits was harmless because the ALJ
cited other valid bases to discount Clawson’s testimony. See Bray v. Comm’r of
Soc. Sec. Admin., 554 F.3d 1219, 1222 (9th Cir. 2009).
At Step Five, the ALJ supported his findings with substantial evidence.
Clawson showed that he cannot perform past relevant work, so the burden shifted
to the Secretary to show that Clawson cannot engage in other substantial gainful
activity. See Roberts v. Shalala, 66 F.3d 179, 184 (9th Cir. 1995). The ALJ met
the burden by propounding to a vocational expert a hypothetical that reflected all
of Clawson’s limitations. The VE testified about two jobs that Clawson could
perform, given his residual functional capacity, and the availability of such jobs in
the national economy. See Tackett, 180 F.3d at 1101. Significant numbers of jobs
exist in the national economy, so Clawson is not disabled. See 20 C.F.R.
§§ 404.1566(b), (c).
The ALJ erred by failing to ask the VE whether his testimony conflicted
with the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, but the error is harmless. See Massachi
v. Astrue, 486 F.3d 1149, 1152-53 (9th Cir. 2007). The VE’s testimony did
conflict with the DOT – the hypothetical limited exertion to sedentary, and the VE
identified two jobs that require light exertion. However, the record contains
persuasive evidence to support the VE’s deviation from the DOT. Light v. Soc.
Sec. Admin., 119 F.3d 789, 793 (9th Cir. 1997). Because the VE testified that the
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two jobs could be performed with exertional levels no greater than those required
for a sedentary job, the error is harmless. See Massachi, 486 F.3d at 1155 n.19.
The ALJ’s clerical error in citing an incorrect DOT number for the
production inspector/ checker position is harmless.
AFFIRMED.
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