peopleops-lifecycle-clearance

name	peopleops-lifecycle-clearance
description	Solve PeopleOps employee-lifecycle clearance / audit / reconciliation tasks against the read-only Northwind People Lifecycle Portal JSON API. Use when a task asks to verify onboarding closeout, leave source precedence, payroll/accrual readiness, case folder + formal-notice quality, or recruitment reconciliation, and return a normalized JSON answer.

PeopleOps Lifecycle Clearance Skill

When to use

Use this skill for any task that points at the Northwind "PeopleOps Console" / "People Lifecycle Portal" and asks you to verify, audit, reconcile, or clear an HR-lifecycle artifact and return a JSON answer matching a template. The task types covered:

• Onboarding closeout verification — effective leave policy + payroll setup for an employee before approving close.
• Leave source precedence — which leave policy/balance is authoritative when profile summary, ledger, policy doc, and audit disagree.
• Payroll assignment & accrual readiness — which salary assignment controls, draft exclusion, accrual batch readiness.
• Case folder + formal-notice quality — folder readiness (missing files/tags), notice defect detection, approval-vs-block decision.
• Recruitment reconciliation — candidate outcome, offer confirmation, cost sum, notice follow-up, payroll handoff gate.

Every task boils down to: resolve the entity, pull authoritative records from the right API, apply source-precedence + exclusion rules, detect defects, pick the matching audit event, choose the normalized enum labels, emit one JSON object.

Environment

• Web UI: <remote-env-url>/
• JSON API base: <remote-env-url> (read-only, no auth)
• Health: GET /health -> {"ok": true, ...}
• The prompt's http://127.0.0.1:<port>/ and login [e-mail] / PeopleOps#2026 refer to THIS remote environment. Do not start a local server and do not attempt login; just hit /api/*.

Endpoints (all GET, read-only)

Endpoint	Use for
/api/manifest	module/file map, dataset seed (sanity check)
/api/summary	live record counts + departments
/api/employees?q=&status=	employee profile records (leave_balance_days, salary_band, no policy name, no assignment history)
/api/payroll-ledgers?q=&status=&type=	leave assignments + salary assignments + aux ledgers (single source for both leave and payroll precedence)
/api/cases?q=&status=&type=	policy case summaries
/api/cases/<case_id>	FULL case detail: approvals[], attachments[] (with content), comments[], audit_events[], policy_refs[], summary
/api/policies / /api/policies/<id>	authoritative business-rule definitions (source-precedence, folder checklist, payroll, notice)
/api/documents?q=	lifecycle document folders: files[], required_files[], required_tags[], tags[], ready
/api/messages?q=	formal notices: quality, defects[], recipient, case_id, status
/api/notifications?q=	same shape as messages (ack deadlines / appeal info)
/api/audit?q=&case_id=	audit events: audit_id, event, detail, actor, case_id, employee_id
/api/audit/<audit_id>	single audit event detail
/api/attachments/<attachment_id>

Search with ?q=<keyword> (matches across fields). Filter with ?status= / ?type=. Always fetch the full case detail via /api/cases/<id> (the summary list omits attachments, comments, full audit events).

Standard operating procedure

1. Identify the entity & task type. From the prompt extract: employee id (EMP-xxx), case id (CASE-...), opening id (REQ-...), or candidate id (CAND-...), plus which decision is asked (leave / payroll / folder+notice / recruitment). The primary id field of the answer (employee_id / case_id / opening_id) must echo it exactly.

2. Probe + confirm. curl -s <remote-env-url>/health then /api/summary to confirm the service is live. Do not save remote data to disk; pipe through python3 -m json.tool or a python3 -c filter.

3. Gather evidence in precedence order (call the endpoints that carry authoritative records, not the stale summaries):

   • Leave entity -> /api/payroll-ledgers?q=<EMP-ID> then filter record_type == "Leave assignment" and period == current. Also /api/employees?q=<EMP-ID> (profile summary — treat as non-authoritative), /api/policies (LEAVE-SRC-001), /api/audit?case_id=... or /api/audit?q=<EMP-ID>.
   • Payroll entity -> /api/payroll-ledgers?q=<EMP-ID> then filter record_type == "Salary assignment". Also /api/policies (PAY-SRC-001), /api/audit?q=<EMP-ID>.
   • Case folder + notice -> /api/cases/<id> (approvals, attachments, embedded audit_events, policy_refs), /api/documents?q=<CASE-ID-or-keyword> (folder), /api/messages?q=<CASE-ID> + /api/notifications?q=<CASE-ID> (notices), /api/audit?case_id=<id>.
   • Recruitment -> /api/recruitment?q=<OPENING-ID> (one object with candidates/offer_register/cost_ledger/notice_packets). Cross-check with /api/cases + /api/audit + /api/messages for adjacent notice defects.

4. Look up the matching policy in /api/policies for the authoritative rule text (Leave Source Precedence, Payroll Assignment Source, Lifecycle Folder Checklist, Remote Work Policy). The policy sections name the exact exclusion + gate rules — quote them mentally to justify each enum.

Field definitions & answer shapes

Each task ships an answer_template.json whose keys are the fields you must populate. Recurring field families:

• Identity: employee_id / case_id / opening_id / selected_candidate / waitlisted_candidates / rejected_candidates.
• Leave: effective_leave_policy (string = the controlling assignment's policy_name), annual_days / balance_days (int = controlling assignment's approved_leave_days), assignment_id (the controlling ledger_id), excluded_leave_ids (list of superseded/draft ledger_ids).
• Payroll: payroll_assignment_id / salary_assignment_id (controlling ledger_id), base_salary (number from controlling salary assignment), effective_date (the assignment's period / effective date), excluded_payroll_ids / excluded_assignment_id, accrual_ready, accrual_batch_id.
• Folder: folder_ready (bool), missing_files (list = required_files minus files), required_tag_present (bool = all required_tags in tags), folder_required_tag_action (add_required_tag if a tag missing else no_tag_action).
• Notice: notice_quality (valid/defective from message quality), notice_defects (list of defect codes from message defects).
• Approval: final_decision, approval_authority (approver), approval_event_id (approval_id).
• Audit: audit_event_id, supporting_audit_event_ids, excluded_audit_event_ids, audit_scope, audit_result.

Business rules

Leave source precedence

• Authoritative source = the latest Approved (or Submitted) leave assignment for the current period in /api/payroll-ledgers (record_type == "Leave assignment").
• leave_source = "leave_assignment_history", leave_precedence_source = "approved_assignment_current_period", precedence_source = "approved_assignment_over_profile".
• Exclude every assignment whose status is Superseded, Draft, voided, or obsolete -> list in excluded_leave_ids. Drafts and superseded records never control even if their day count differs.
• Ignore the employee profile summary (leave_balance_days / any case summary / HRMS leave ledger) when it conflicts with an approved assignment -> profile_policy_ignored = true, audit_result = "profile_summary_stale", next_action = "update_employee_summary".
• effective_leave_policy = the controlling assignment's policy_name; annual_days/balance_days = its approved_leave_days (use worksheet_leave_days only if approved_leave_days is absent/zero).
• Corroborate via /api/policies LEAVE-SRC-001 and the leave-scope audit event.

Payroll source precedence & accrual

• Authoritative source = the current Submitted salary assignment in /api/payroll-ledgers (record_type == "Salary assignment", status Submitted).
• payroll_source_status = "submitted", payroll_source_status_required = "submitted_after_acceptance", draft_exclusion_rule = "exclude_draft_assignment", draft_payroll_allowed = false.
• Exclude any Draft (or Superseded) salary assignment -> excluded_payroll_ids / excluded_assignment_id. Draft planning assignments do not affect payroll readiness or accrual.
• base_salary = the submitted assignment's base_salary; effective_date = its period (e.g. 2026-04-01 from period 2026-04) or updated_at date.
• Accrual readiness: accrual_ready = true when the submitted salary assignment carries an accrual_batch_id matching the accrual batch; accrual_batch_id = that value. control_result = "ready_with_monitoring", audit_scope = "payroll_assignment_readiness".
• Corroborate via PAY-SRC-001.

Folder readiness

• A folder is ready only if ready == true AND every required_files entry is present in files AND every required_tags entry is present in tags (per POL-DOCS-2026). When in doubt, compute the set differences yourself.
• missing_files = required_files - files. required_tag_present = (required_tags ⊆ tags).
• folder_ready = false if any missing file or missing tag.
• If a required tag is missing -> folder_required_tag_action = "add_required_tag", closeout_blockers includes missing_required_tags. If only files missing, folder_required_tag_action = "no_tag_action" and blocker is missing_required_files.

Formal-notice defect detection

• Inspect the formal notice via /api/messages?q=<case_id> (and /api/notifications) — read the embedded quality and defects[]. Do not rely on the case summary text alone -> notice_evidence_source = "notice_packet_inspection".
• notice_quality = "defective" when message quality == "defective" (or any defect listed); else valid.
• Defect codes (from message defects, corroborated against HR-POL-014 section 7.1 which requires appeal instructions + acknowledgement deadline + tax equalization etc.):
  • missing_ack_deadline — acknowledgement deadline absent.
  • missing_appeal_instructions — appeal section absent.
  • missing_waitlist_status — waitlist candidate notice omits waitlist status.
  • missing_correct_policy — notice references a legacy/incorrect policy vs the approved assignment.
• A defective notice -> closeout_blockers includes defective_formal_notice.

Approval closeout gate (cross-cutting)

• An approval is NOT sufficient to close when either the folder is defective (missing files/tags) or the formal notice is defective. -> approval_closeout_gate = "approval_not_sufficient_when_folder_or_notice_defective", final_control_result = "hold_for_folder_and_notice_defects".
• Only when folder + notice + all records are clean does approval_closeout_gate = "approval_sufficient_when_records_clean" and final_control_result = "approve_closeout".
• final_decision comes from the case approvals[] (e.g. Approved + note "with conditions" -> approved_with_conditions). approval_authority = approval approver; approval_event_id = approval approval_id.
• When blocked: next_action = "block_close_and_reissue_notice", escalation_action = "open_records_remediation", notice_remediation_action = "reissue_defective_notices". When there are no notice defects but only records/folder issues, notice_remediation_action = "no_notice_action".
• escalation_action for clean cases = no_action.

Audit event selection

• Pick the audit event whose event matches the task scope:
  • leave-scope -> leave.* (e.g. leave.profile_mismatch), audit_scope = "leave_source_precedence_only".
  • payroll/accrual -> payroll.* (e.g. payroll.ready, payroll.draft_excluded), audit_scope = "payroll_assignment_readiness".
  • folder/notice -> notice.defect / folder.tag_missing / case.close_blocked, audit_scope = "document_notice_findings_only".
• supporting_audit_event_ids = [the chosen event]. Any adjacent audit event outside the scope (e.g. a folder.tag_missing event when the task is leave-precedence) goes in excluded_audit_event_ids — do not let it influence the in-scope decision.
• cross_module.escalation_package events are navigational (they list related event ids); do not select them as the single scope event and exclude them from single-scope supporting lists.
• audit_result mirrors the audit detail when it states a QA verdict: profile_summary_stale, ready_with_monitoring, block_close.

Escalation owner

• Records issues (missing files / missing tags / folder not ready) -> Records.
• Payroll draft-exclusion / accrual issues -> Payroll QA.
• Cross-module / combined lifecycle risk -> People Ops Compliance.

Recruitment reconciliation

• /api/recruitment?q=<opening_id> returns one object. Reconstruct outcomes from candidates[] + offer_register[]:
  • selected_candidate = candidate with committee_decision == "Selected".
  • waitlisted_candidates = those with committee_decision == "Waitlisted".
  • rejected_candidates = those with committee_decision == "Rejected".
  • Arrays contain candidate IDs only.
• Offer: from offer_register where candidate_id == selected -> offer_id, offer_base_salary, selected_offer_status = "accepted" (read the literal status).
• Cost: recruitment_cost_total = sum(amount) over all cost_ledger lines; cost_source = "recruitment_cost_ledger".
• Notice follow-up: notice_followup_required = candidate IDs from notice_packets[] where status == "not_sent". Their required_action -> waitlisted_followup_action / rejected_followup_action (e.g. send_waitlist_notice, send_rejection_notice).
• Candidate status source: interview_feedback_and_offer (committee decision cross-checked with offer register), candidate_outcome_control = "committee_decision_with_offer_confirmation", notice_quality_source = "notice_packet_inspection".
• Payroll handoff gate: created only after the selected candidate has an accepted offer; the assignment must then be submitted -> onboarding_handoff = "create_payroll_precheck", payroll_handoff_gate = "accepted_offer_only", payroll_assignment_status_required = "submitted_after_acceptance", draft_payroll_allowed = false, handoff_control_result = "submitted_handoff_required_after_acceptance".
• Waitlisted candidates have no accepted offer -> offer_exclusion_reason_for_waitlisted = "no_accepted_status_or_offer".

Common misjudgments & exclusion rules

• Stale profile summary — do not take employee.leave_balance_days or a case summary as the leave policy of record when an approved current-period assignment exists. Always prefer the assignment ledger.
• Draft assignments — never selected for leave or payroll; always moved to the excluded list. Status Draft is excluded even when its day/salary number is larger.
• Superseded assignments — excluded from leave (still list in excluded_leave_ids).
• Missing tags treated as cosmetic — a missing required tag is a hard closeout_blocker (missing_required_tags); folder_ready is false.
• Missing ack/appeal treated as formality — accept the message's defects[] verbatim; each maps to a blocker defective_formal_notice.
• Approval treated as closeout — an "Approved" case is still blocked if folder or notice is defective. The gate is records-driven, not approval-driven.
• Audit scope leakage — an adjacent folder/notice audit event must NOT anchor a leave-precedence answer (and vice versa). Move it to excluded_audit_event_ids.
• Case summary-only notice judgment — always inspect the actual message/notice packet; summaries can hide defects.
• Free-text enums — every enum/list-of-enum field must use a label from the template allowed_values; off-label synonyms fail.
• Extra keys / markdown — emit exactly the template keys as one bare JSON object; no leading/trailing prose.
• Cost from summary — sum the cost_ledger lines yourself; never read a precomputed cost from a summary.
• Waitlisted offered — waitlisted candidates have no accepted offer and no payroll handoff; only the selected candidate does.

Pre-submission checklist

1. Identity field (employee_id/case_id/opening_id) matches the prompt entity exactly.
2. Leave answer sourced from an Approved/Submitted current-period Leave assignment; drafts/superseded listed in excluded.
3. Payroll answer sourced from a Submitted Salary assignment; draft(s) listed in excluded; accrual_batch_id copied from it.
4. Folder: missing_files = required − present; required_tag_present computed from tag set; folder_required_tag_action set accordingly.
5. Notice: notice_defects copied from the message defects[]; notice_quality matches.
6. approval_closeout_gate is ..._not_sufficient... iff any blocker exists; final_control_result is hold_for_folder_and_notice_defects iff blocker.
7. Audit: chosen event's scope matches task scope; out-of-scope events in excluded_audit_event_ids; audit_scope enum matches scope.
8. Recruitment: cost = sum of all ledger lines; arrays are candidate IDs only; handoff gate = accepted offer + submitted assignment; draft_payroll_allowed = false.
9. Every enum/boolean field uses an exact template allowed_values label — no synonyms, no free text.
10. Output is a single bare JSON object with exactly the template keys; no markdown fences, no commentary.