{"id":"hr-employment-verification-reply","audience":"hr","category":"writing-emails","track":"writing","technique":"grounding","title":"Answer an employment verification request within policy","free":false,"task":"A mortgage lender emailed asking to verify an employee's job and salary. Reply in under 70 words, plain text, confirming only what the policy allows without written consent, saying what's needed for salary, and nothing else. Use the employee's current title, and don't confirm anything about performance or future employment.","materialLabel":"The request and policy (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"From: Lisa Grant, Riverside Mortgage\n\"We're verifying employment for Jordan Lee for a home loan. Please confirm his job title, start date, current salary, whether he's full-time, and whether his job is secure for the next 2 years.\"\n\nEmployment verification policy (Brightline Utilities):\n- Without written employee consent, HR may confirm only: current job title, start date, and employment status (full-time/part-time).\n- Salary is confirmed only with a signed consent form from the employee (form EV-2), sent to verify@brightline.example.\n- Never comment on performance, job security or future employment.\n- If unsure, check with HR/legal before replying.\n\nHR record - Jordan Lee:\n- Title: Payroll Analyst (until Feb 28); promoted to Senior Payroll Analyst effective Mar 1.\n- Start date: Aug 15, 2022.\n- Status: full-time.\n- Salary: $86,000.\n- Today's date: Apr 3.\n\nSender: Hana Ito, HR.","rules":[{"type":"maxWords","max":70},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Answering every question","why":"The AI tries to be helpful and answers all five questions, including salary.","fix":"Add: \"Confirm only title, start date and status. Salary needs form EV-2.\"","checks":["r0","r1"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it.","fix":"Cap each part instead: \"4 sentences, each under 16 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]},{"title":"Using the old title","why":"Both titles are in the record, and the AI may pick the first.","fix":"Add: \"His current title is Senior Payroll Analyst.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Commenting on job security","why":"The AI reassures the lender to help the employee.","fix":"Add: \"Nothing about job security or performance. Plain text.\"","checks":["r2","plainText"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Limits what's confirmed","patterns":["only.{0,30}(title|allowed|policy)","title, start date","policy"]},{"label":"Handles salary correctly","patterns":["consent","ev-?2","salary"]},{"label":"Uses the current title","patterns":["senior payroll","current title"]},{"label":"Avoids job security comments","patterns":["job security","future","performance"]},{"label":"Sets a word limit","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","word (limit|count)"]}],"hint":"Verification replies must follow policy exactly. Tell the AI what may be confirmed, how salary is handled, the current title, and what never to comment on.","rubricLabels":["Confirms only the allowed facts: title Senior Payroll Analyst (the current one, not Payroll Analyst), start date Aug 15, 2022, and full-time status","Does not state the salary ($86,000 never appears) and says salary needs a signed consent form EV-2 sent to verify@brightline.example","Says nothing about job security, performance or future employment (at most a brief line that we can't comment on those), and has no bullet list or headings"]}