OLE uses Kuali Identity Management software, which is a Kuali-wide application that handles users, roles, and permissions. OLE interacts with KIM to determine what permissions a user has and to define workflow responsibilities.
An important aspect of KIM is that you do not assign permissions directly to staff. Instead, permissions and responsibilities are assigned to roles. People, or groups of people, are attached to the role. A document describing OLE's use of KIM is available in draft
OLE User documentation on KIM.
Roles and permissions are being refactored for 2.0. You can look at the refactoring that is being proposed.