looks like the li is only closed for the else clause

 if(xhr.readyState === 4) { 
convert string to js, store in var employees
    var employees = JSON.parse(xhr.responseText);
generate ul w/html, store in var statusHTML
    var statusHTML = "< ul class='bulleted' >";
for loop, employee list stored in employee
    for (var i=0; i < employees.length; i += 1) {
condition
      if (employees[i].inoffice === true) {
generate in class in
        statusHTML += '< li class="in" >';
generate out class
      } else {
        statusHTML += '< li class="out" >';
        statusHTML += '< /li >';
      }
    statusHTML += '' ; 
    document.getElementById('employeeList').innerHTML =
    statusHTML;
  }
};