Joye S. v. Bisignano
- Jerry Blackwell
- 0:24-cv-02784
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
In Joye S. v. Bisignano, Judge Blackwell remanded the Social Security case for further proceedings after accepting the magistrate judge’s recommendation.
Joye S., the Commissioner of Social Security, and the Social Security Administration, which must conduct further proceedings and provide the required explanation.
What happened
In Joye S. v. Bisignano, Joye S. asked the federal court for relief in a Social Security case. A magistrate judge issued a recommendation, and neither side objected within the allowed time.
The court found no clear error in the recommendation. It granted Joye S.’s request for relief and denied the Commissioner’s request for relief.
Judge Jerry W. Blackwell accepted the recommendation and sent the matter back to the Social Security Administration for more proceedings and explanation. The administrative law judge must address possible limits on Joye S.’s workplace interactions with coworkers and supervisors and, if necessary, obtain more testimony from a vocational expert.
The detailed version
- Joye S. v. Bisignano · No. 0:24-cv-02784
- Jerry W. Blackwell
- June 12, 2025
Background
United States Magistrate Judge Douglas L. Micko issued a Report and Recommendation on April 28, 2025. No objections were filed within the permitted time. Because there were no timely objections, Judge Blackwell reviewed the recommendation for clear error.
Ruling
Judge Blackwell found no clear error and accepted the magistrate judge’s Report and Recommendation. The court granted Joye S.’s request for relief and denied the Commissioner’s request for relief.
The court remanded the matter to the Social Security Administration under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) for further administrative proceedings and an explanation consistent with the recommendation. On remand, the administrative law judge must explain whether Joye S.’s residual functional capacity should include additional limits on workplace interactions with coworkers and supervisors. The administrative law judge must also recall a vocational expert for testimony if necessary to address new hypothetical questions based on a modified residual functional capacity.
Disposition
The matter was remanded to the Social Security Administration, and judgment was ordered accordingly.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.