MICHAEL H. SIMON, District Judge.
The matter before the court is the Commissioner's Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment (doc. # 23). The Commissioner asks that the court alter its decision reversing the Commissioner's decision and remanding for further administrative proceedings at step five of the sequential analysis, and instead affirm the ALJ's decision. The Commissioner argues that the court erred in: (1) finding that the ALJ relied on "indefinite testimony" from the vocational expert ("VE"); and (2) finding that the Dictionary of Occupational Titles ("DOT") did not contain an entry for a job identified as DOT 731.684-038. Opinion and Order, filed December 7, 2011 (doc. # 21) ("Opinion and Order"). For the reasons discussed below, the motion is denied.
Under Rule 59(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the court has discretion to alter or amend a judgment if: (1) the district court is presented with newly discovered evidence; (2) the district court committed clear error or made an initial decision that was manifestly unjust; or (3) there is an intervening change in controlling law. Ybarra v. McDaniel, 656 F.3d 984, 998 (9th Cir. 2011).
With regard to the Commissioner's first argument, the court is unpersuaded that it erred in concluding that the ALJ relied on indefinite testimony from the VE to find that Plaintiff could perform the job of Cashier II at a sedentary exertional level.
With regard to the Commissioner's second argument, the Commissioner conceded that the DOT does not contain an entry for a job identified by the VE as "optical goods inspector," DOT 731.684-038, but stated in his brief that the VE had inadvertently transposed the first two digits of the DOT number and intended to identify the job of polisher, eyeglass frames, DOT 713.684-038. The Commissioner is correct that the court erred when it stated that the DOT did not contain a job identified as DOT 713.684-038. Opinion and Order, p. 29, lines 5-6. The court nevertheless declines to interpret the VE's testimony to identify a job with a different DOT description (eyeglass frames polisher, not optical goods inspector) and a different number (713.684-038, not 731.684-038). The VE did not identify the job correctly in her testimony, either by title or by number, and the court has no authority to make interpolations in the record to correct these errors. Under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), the court has the power to enter a judgment only "upon the pleadings and transcript of the record." See also Bray v. Comm'r of Social Security Admin., 554 F.3d 1219, 1225-26 (9
The Commissioner's Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment (doc. # 24) is DENIED. The court amends the Opinion and Order to delete the following sentence from page 29, lines 5-6: "The argument is unavailing because there is no entry for DOT 713.684-038 either."
IT IS SO ORDERED.