Reconstruction compiles employers, job titles, tasks performed, worksites, and dates across a working lifetime. Sources include Social Security earnings records, union records, employment files, tax records, and claimant testimony.
It establishes the exposure timeline for causation analysis.
Alternative Names:
Employment History Reconstruction, Occupational History
Why it Matters?
Social Security earnings records are the most reliable source because they document every employer and period independently of recollection, and they frequently contradict the work history a claimant provided. Union records add job classification detail that establishes what tasks the claimant performed. Gaps between the claimed history and these records are productive impeachment and frequently reveal exposures at employers the claimant did not disclose.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the most reliable source?
Why do gaps matter?
