Approval Requirements for Leave- and Separation-Related Email Actions
Purpose
This article documents what approval is required before ITS can take action on an employee’s mailbox, out-of-office message, mailbox copy/export, or related access request.
Scope
Applies to requests involving:
Access to another employee’s mailbox or OneDrive
Adding or changing an out-of-office message when the employee cannot do it themselves
Exporting/providing a copy of a mailbox or OneDrive
Requests involving administrative leave, suspension, or Labor Relations handling
Requests to remove previously granted access when the employee returns
Policy Summary
Ordinary operational coverage requests
For example: employee on medical/extended leave, or separated employee where the department needs business continuity.
In these cases, ITS generally requires written approval from the Dean, Director, or Department Head before proceeding with mailbox access or mailbox export.Labor Relations-controlled cases
For example: administrative leave, suspension, locked NetID per LR, or cases where LR has initiated account restrictions.
In these cases, ITS does not proceed based on department approval alone. The request must come from Labor Relations directly, and ITS works through the established LR process.
Approval Matrix
Requested action | Required approval | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Add or change an out-of-office for an employee on leave | Dean, Director, Department Head, or other supervisor approval in writing | OOO text must be written in third person. |
Grant one employee access to another employee’s mailbox and/or OneDrive due to ordinary leave/business continuity | Dean, Director, or Department Head approval in writing | Approval can be forwarded by email into the ticket or written directly on the ticket. |
Provide access to a mailbox and/or expedited access to OneDrive for a separated employee’s supervisor | Dean, Director, or Department Head approval in writing | Instructions on how to create a copy can be provided. |
Provide access to make a copy of mailbox/OneDrive after account already deleted | Depends on separation circumstances, ITS will determine needed approval(s) | May not be available more than 30 days after the account has been deleted. |
Grant mailbox and/or OneDrive access when the case involves administrative leave, suspension, or other LR-controlled action | Labor Relations permission required | Department should contact LR; ITS does not act on direct departmental request. |
Unlock a NetID previously locked at Labor Relations’ request | Labor Relations permission required | ITS cannot unlock without LR permission, even if identity is verified. |
Remove mailbox delegate access / remove OOO when employee returns from LR-managed leave | Labor Relations permission required | ITS removed access and OOO only after LR confirmed return from leave. |
Provide access to make a .pst/mailbox copy or OneDrive copy when account stays active because of other affiliation | Labor Relations permission required | If the account remains active due to another affiliation, direct access is not provided, and LR must initiate copy/emptying requests. |
General Rules
1) What counts as acceptable approval
Approval written directly in the ticket
Approval forwarded into the ticket by email
Approval explicitly naming the target mailbox, the person receiving access, and the reason for access
2) Out-of-office wording requirements
When ITS adds the out-of-office message:
It must be in third person
It should direct senders to a replacement contact or shared mailbox
The department should provide the exact wording
3) When the employee returns
If delegate access or OOO was added during a leave, ITS should be notified so access can be removed and mailbox state returned to normal. This is explicit in both ordinary leave and LR-managed return cases.