The SSDI Work History Report: Getting Form SSA-3369 Right

What this report is asking for

The SSA's current work history materials focus on the jobs you held in the five years before you became unable to work because of your medical conditions. For each of those jobs, the SSA asks for the job title, the type of business, the dates you worked, your pay, your hours, your duties, the tools and machines you used, the supervision you had, and the physical activity the work involved. You should list separate job titles even when they were with the same employer, and you should include self-employment as well as any work you performed in another country when that applies to you.

The job title on its own rarely gives the SSA enough detail. A cashier at a small gas station can have different duties than a cashier at a large grocery store, and a warehouse associate may lift boxes, drive equipment, scan inventory, load trucks, stand for long periods, and meet pace requirements. A short job title can leave out the actual demands of the work.

What to gather before filling it out

Pulling your details together before you write anything on the form makes the report easier to complete and more accurate. For each job, you want the dates you worked (even when those dates are only approximate), the hours you worked per week and your rate of pay when you can find them, the lifting, carrying, standing, walking, sitting, reaching, bending, kneeling, and handling the job required, and the reasons the work changed, became harder, or ended when those reasons connect to your medical condition.

Gather the following details for each job before you fill out the form:

• Names of the employers from the five-year period
• Job titles the employer used
• Main duties you performed during a normal workday
• Tools, machines, software, vehicles, or equipment you used
• Supervision, pace, attendance, and customer contact details

Review the dates and job titles first

Put your jobs in order before you write on the final form. Start with your most recent job and move backward through the five-year period. If you held two job titles at the same company, list each title separately when the duties were different.

Your dates do not have to be perfect when records are missing. Use the best estimate you have and mark it as approximate when that is the accurate answer, because a rough date supported by a tax record or a resume is more useful to the SSA than a blank on the form.

When you describe each job, describe what the work required rather than only what the employer called it. Write what happened during a normal workday, including the physical tasks and the pace of the work. Note whether the job required standing in one place, walking across a worksite, lifting objects from the floor, reaching overhead, using both hands, handling paperwork, staying on task, meeting production numbers, dealing with customers, or making decisions without help.

Concrete details work better than broad phrases. Instead of writing "stocked shelves," write the type of items, how often you lifted boxes, where you lifted them from, where you placed them, and whether you used help. Instead of writing "office work," list your computer tasks, phone calls, filing, sitting time, keyboard use, attention demands, and deadlines.

Connect the job details to your work limits carefully. The work history report is not the place to argue your entire case; it is the place to describe the work accurately. Your medical records, treatment notes, test results, and function details can show how your condition affects your work, and the job report helps the SSA compare those limits to the work you performed in the past.

Use steady wording that states what the job required and what changed when your condition became worse. If your lifting became limited, name the approximate weight. If your standing became limited, write how long you could stand before you needed a break. If your concentration changed, write which tasks became harder and how often mistakes, breaks, or missed work happened.

A common mistake is writing a short job description, because a short answer can leave out the demands that matter. "Customer service" does not explain standing, computer use, call volume, schedule changes, customer conflict, pace, or attendance requirements, and "construction" does not explain lifting weight, tools, climbing, kneeling, weather exposure, or safety risks. Use one sentence for the purpose of the job, then add the task details, because the report becomes more useful when each job shows the actual workday.

First steps before sending the report

Before you send the report, work through these steps in order:

1. Make a rough job list before you write on the form.
2. Match your job titles to their dates as closely as you can.
3. List each job title separately when the duties changed.
4. Add the physical and mental task details for each job.
5. Write unknown, none, or does not apply when that is the accurate answer.
6. Save a copy before you send the report.
7. Track the date you sent it and the office or upload location you used.