The Work Bench · Office Clerks, General

Look up records to answer requests

The task, from O*NET: Review files, records, and other documents to obtain information to respond to requests.

Typical length 17 minutes. Time split: documents 50%, systems 50%. About 122,152,567 hours a year of desk work across the US go to this task.

Passes, one attempt by Claude Fable 5.1. The rubric was written 2026-10-01 03:42 UTC, before the attempt (2026-10-01 03:51 UTC); the grade came last (2026-10-01 03:55 UTC).

One attempt at one task on one date, with constructed material: it is not a statement that the job, or this task in a given workplace, can be done by AI. The rubric, the attempt and the grade were made by the same model in one session, in that order; a person's check of a sample of grades will be published beside them.

The brief

You are the records clerk at Cobalt Ridge Property Management. Three requests came in this morning. Using the file excerpts and the office's release rules below, answer each request in writing: give the information with the record it came from, or explain what you cannot release and what the requester must do instead. Do not guess at anything the files do not say.

The material

Constructed for this example; the names, figures and documents are invented.

RELEASE RULES
- A tenant may receive their own lease terms, ledger and maintenance history on request, by email to the address on file or in person with ID.
- A third party, including a family member, receives nothing about a tenant without the tenant's written authorization on file.
- A prospective landlord, lender or employer receives only confirmation of tenancy dates and whether the account is in good standing, and only with the tenant's written authorization on file.
- Maintenance vendors receive the unit number and the work order details only.

FILE EXCERPTS
Unit 2B, 410 Alder Street. Tenant: Priya Nair. Lease: 12 months from March 1, 2026; rent $1,650 due on the 1st; security deposit $1,650 held. Ledger: every month paid on time through September; October not yet due. Maintenance: June 14, dishwasher leak repaired (WO-2210); August 22, smoke detector battery replaced (WO-2287). Authorizations on file: a signed release dated September 15 allowing Lakeside Mortgage Co to receive tenancy confirmation.
Unit 4A, 410 Alder Street. Tenant: Omar Haddad. Lease: 12 months from July 15, 2025, renewed July 15, 2026 at $1,720. Ledger: September rent paid September 9, late; a $50 late fee charged and paid. Maintenance: September 3, bathroom fan replaced (WO-2301). Authorizations on file: none.

REQUESTS
1. Email from priya.nair@example.com, which matches the address on file: "Can you send me my maintenance history for this year and confirm my deposit amount? I'm also wondering if my lease allows a cat."
2. Phone message from a caller who says she is Omar's mother: "My son Omar in 4A asked me to find out if his rent is paid up for September. Please call me back at 555-0177."
3. Email from Lakeside Mortgage Co: "Please confirm Priya Nair's tenancy dates, monthly rent amount, and payment history for the past 12 months for a mortgage application."

The rubric, written before the attempt

1. Request 1 is answered to the tenant by email to the address on file with the right facts, and the cat question is answered honestly. Evidence: Both work orders with dates and numbers, the $1,650 deposit, and a statement that the pet terms are not in the file excerpt, so the lease document will be checked or she is referred to her lease, rather than a guess.
2. Request 2 is refused correctly and courteously. Evidence: Nothing about the account, not even confirmation that Omar is a tenant; the rule explained; the two ways forward stated (Omar's written authorization on file, or Omar asking himself).
3. Request 3 is limited to what the authorization allows. Evidence: Tenancy dates (12 months from March 1, 2026) and good standing (paid on time through September) given; the rent amount and the payment history withheld with the reason; a broader written authorization from the tenant named as the way to get more.
4. Each answer cites the record it came from. Evidence: The lease, the ledger, the work order numbers, the September 15 authorization.
5. Nothing is guessed or added beyond the excerpts. Evidence: No pet policy, no figure, no date beyond the material.
6. Plain words, one reply per request, each ready to send. Evidence: Three short replies.

The attempt, one pass, unedited

Claude Fable 5.1, written 2026-10-01 03:51 UTC from the brief and the material only.

REPLY 1, by email to priya.nair@example.com (the address on file)

Subject: Your maintenance history and deposit, Unit 2B

Dear Ms. Nair,

Here is the maintenance history on file for Unit 2B this year, from our work orders:
- June 14: dishwasher leak repaired (work order WO-2210).
- August 22: smoke detector battery replaced (work order WO-2287).

Your security deposit on file is $1,650, per your lease (12 months from March 1, 2026).

On the cat: the file summary in front of me does not include the pet terms of your lease, and I would rather not guess. I will pull your signed lease and reply with the exact wording today; you can also find it in your own copy of the lease.

Kind regards,
Records, Cobalt Ridge Property Management


REPLY 2, by phone to 555-0177 (the caller who said she is Omar's mother)

Thank you for calling. I am not able to share any information about a tenant's account with anyone other than the tenant, including family, unless the tenant has a written authorization on file with us, and I cannot confirm account details on a call like this one. There are two ways to get what you need: Omar can contact us himself, by email from his address on file or in person with ID, and we will give him his ledger right away; or he can sign a written authorization naming you, and once it is on file we can speak with you. I am sorry I cannot do more today.

(For the file: no authorization is on file for Unit 4A; no tenancy or account information was given to the caller.)


REPLY 3, by email to Lakeside Mortgage Co

Subject: Tenancy confirmation, Priya Nair

We hold a signed release from Ms. Nair dated September 15 allowing Lakeside Mortgage Co to receive confirmation of her tenancy. Under that release we can confirm:
- Tenancy: Unit 2B, 410 Alder Street, under a 12-month lease beginning March 1, 2026.
- Standing: the account is in good standing, with every month paid on time through September 2026.

Our rules allow a lender to receive only the tenancy dates and the standing of the account. We cannot provide the monthly rent amount or a payment history under the release on file. If Ms. Nair gives us a written authorization that specifically covers the rent amount and payment history, we will send them to you on receipt.

Kind regards,
Records, Cobalt Ridge Property Management

The grade

Graded 2026-10-01 03:55 UTC against the rubric above, by the same model.

Overall: passes. The three answers draw the lines exactly where the rules draw them, and the phone reply refuses without confirming the tenant exists. The note for the file is a good habit and was not asked for.

How the examples are made and graded: the method. Every task of this job, with its length and when it comes within reach: Office Clerks, General.