Nashville is most notably known as the center of the country music industry. Nashville also has high profile prevalence in the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries; its home to a number of colleges and universities. Currently, the bi-county population of Nashville-Davidson County stands at 635,710 (2009 U.S. Census estimates), and approximately 14.1% or 75,100 residents are disabled.

Milwaukee, the Jewel of the Great Lakes, is the 28th most populous city in the United States. This large city is the main cultural and economic center of the Milwaukee–Racine–Waukesha Metropolitan Area with a population of 1,751,316 (U.S. Census Bureau). Over 15.2% of the population is registered as a person with a “disability”, which are approximately 127,930 residents.

Denver nicknamed the "Mile-High City” has an official elevation of exactly one mile above sea level. Denver population now exceeds 600,158, as documented by the 2010 census, and is the 26th most populous city in the United States. In Colorado approximately 533,100 are registered as disabled residents, and currently receive benefits through the Social Security Administration (SSA).

Columbus, the capital city of Ohio and the 15th largest city in the U.S., modern Columbus has emerged as a technologically-sophisticated city. The staggering population has had some dramatic increases over the past ten years, and with a 2010 Census count of 787,033; Columbus became the most populous city in Ohio.

Memphis is the 3rd largest city in the Southeastern United States and the 20th largest in the United States. The greater Memphis metropolitan area, including adjacent counties in Mississippi and Arkansas, had a 2010 population of 1,316,100. Memphis has an unemployment rate of 10.7%, higher than the current national average of 9.1%. Approximately 15.4% of the Memphis population has a documented disability; of that, over 80% are not in the job market.

Worker's compensation is a form of insurance that provides financial compensation and medical benefits to employees who have been injured on the job. The acceptance of worker's compensation eliminates the employee's right to sue the employer for circumstances that led up to the injury. Worker's compensation coverage varies from area to area and employer to employer. Compensation may be made to the employee in the form of weekly or monthly payments and may cover past and future lost wages. These benefits might also be payable to the families of workers who have been killed on the job.

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs, also known as the VA and the Veterans Administration, is a government-operated veteran benefit agency. The Veterans Administration is the agency in charge of providing medical care and disability benefits to military veterans who are wounded or disabled.

The Social Security Disability windfall offset, also known as windfall elimination, is used to prevent Social Security Disability recipients from receiving more money than they are actually due. The windfall offset usually only affects recipients who are receiving both Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments.

When a Social Security Disability applicant applies for disability benefits through the Social Security Administration (SSA), there are a number of factors that the adjudicator will consider before approving or denying the applicant's disability claim. One of these factors is vocational adjustment.

When you become disabled and are unable to continue your current work activity due to your disability the SSA will try to determine whether or not there are other types of work that you may be able to perform. Vocational adjustment is the term that the SSA uses to refer to the adjustments that you would have to make in order to adjust to the different requirements needed in order to obtain employment in another type of occupation.

In order to obtain disability benefits from the SSA, you must prove that you are unable to perform the work that you had previously been performing and the SSA must determine that you cannot make the adjustments that would be required to perform any other type of substantial gainful activity. The adjudicator reviewing your file will assess your education and work experience when determining whether or not vocational adjustment would result in your ability to obtain work other than the type you had previously been performing.

Vocational adjustment can work for or against you in your claim for Social Security Disability benefits depending on your age. For example, if you are fifty years of age, it will be more difficult for you to obtain the different skills that would be needed to adjust to different job situations. On the other hand, if you are only twenty years old it would be easier for you to make a vocational adjustment. For many Social Security Disability applicants who are under 50 years of age, the adjudicator reviewing the file will determine that you are capable of performing some type of work activity and you may be expected to make these vocational adjustments. On the other hand, those who are nearing retirement age are rarely expected to make vocational adjustment and are often approved for Social Security Disability benefits.

When a Social Security Disability applicant tries to perform substantial gainful work activity and that attempt fails within six months from the start date, it may be considered an unsuccessful work attempt by the Social Security Administration (SSA). In order to be considered an unsuccessful work attempt, the attempt must fail due to the disabling condition that the applicant is suffering from or a lack of appropriate accommodations being provided for the disabled worker.