## Facts

- Helen Ambers applied for Social Security disability insurance benefits, alleging disability from physical and nervous conditions.
- At the time of the administrative decision, she was 43 years old, had a sixth-grade education, and could not read or write at a first-grade level.
- Her past work included unskilled jobs such as domestic work, babysitting, waitressing, and yard labor.
- Medical evidence addressed hypertension and asthma; some examinations suggested limited physical impairment and no significant heart, pulmonary, or neurologic disease.
- Psychological evaluation showed a performance I.Q. of 52, which satisfied the criteria for the mental retardation listing then codified at Listing 12.05B.
- It was undisputed that Ambers was not engaged in substantial gainful activity.
- The ALJ denied benefits, finding the physical impairments non-disabling and concluding she could return to past work as a domestic; the Secretary adopted the decision as final.
- The district court affirmed; Ambers appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether disability benefits may be denied to a claimant who meets Listing 12.05B for mental retardation on the ground that she previously worked and can return to unskilled past relevant work.

## Decision

- The Eleventh Circuit reversed the district court’s judgment affirming the Secretary’s denial.
- The court held that because Ambers met Listing 12.05B and was not engaged in substantial gainful activity, she was entitled to benefits.
- The court rejected denial based on vocational evidence of ability to perform past unskilled work once a listing is met.
- The case was remanded for an award of benefits consistent with the listing-level disability determination.

## Legal Principles

- Under the Social Security sequential evaluation, a claimant who is not working and whose impairment meets or equals a listed impairment is conclusively deemed disabled at step three.
- When a listing is satisfied, the agency may not deny benefits based on residual functional capacity, prior work history, or asserted ability to perform past relevant unskilled work.
- An ALJ’s non-disability finding as to physical impairments does not defeat entitlement where an independent mental impairment meets a listed impairment.

## Conclusion

The Eleventh Circuit held that satisfying Listing 12.05B establishes disability as a matter of law at step three, so the Secretary may not rely on a claimant’s past unskilled employment or claimed ability to return to it to deny benefits.


Ambers v. Heckler, 736 F.2d 1467 (11th Cir. 1984)