An adversarial measure like locking accounts is unlikely to be the result of a bureaucratic issue like the one you describe. Much more likely, the boss got win

An adversarial measure like locking accounts is unlikely to be the result of a bureaucratic issue like the one you describe. Much more likely, the boss got wind of some "mental instability" and now doesn't trust the worker; or was already looking for excuses to fire him and thinks he's now found it.