When Are Two HR Requests Really the Same Case?

Research question: Can a comparison of verified sender, requested action, relevant date, attachment identity, and case reference distinguish true duplicate HR requests from related but separate requests?

Methodology: Prepare fifty pairs of sanitized requests. Include exact duplicates across channels, follow-ups with new evidence, similar topics for different employees, separate actions in one event, and deliberately ambiguous pairs. Reviewers classify the pairs with either subject-line matching or a structured comparison card.

Scope and measures: The unit is one request pair. Record incorrect merges, missed duplicates, sensitivity flags, correct escalation of ambiguity, reviewer agreement, and classification time. Preserve uncertain outcomes rather than forcing them into duplicate or separate.

Inference limits: Classification performance on prepared pairs does not estimate the frequency of duplicates in a real inbox. It also cannot establish employee identity, authorization, policy meaning, or whether two live cases may lawfully share access.

Limitations and use: Sanitization removes conversational nuance and may make identifiers unusually tidy. An HR operations owner can use the findings to refine linking rules. Case access, substantive responses, policy decisions, and uncertain merges remain with authorized HR staff.

Sources consulted: NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 (https://www.nist.gov/cyberframework); NIST Privacy Framework (https://www.nist.gov/privacy-framework); U.S. Government Accountability Office, Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government (https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-14-704g); Google Search Central, Article structured data (https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/article); Sitemaps protocol (https://www.sitemaps.org/protocol.html). These sources supply general control, privacy, and publishing concepts. They do not report results for Outsourced Employment, create legal or employment requirements, guarantee search indexing, or validate a live workflow.