System and methods for employment law compliance, establishment, evaluation and review

• US 7,330,817 B1
• Filed: 08/13/2001
• Issued: 02/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Employment Law Compliance Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Employment Law Compliance Incorporated
• Inventors: Greene, Steven S., Paulk, Daniel, Exall, Marian, Tomko, Janet, Helms, Victoria, Rogan, Fred, Reeks, Tricia
• Primary Examiner(s): OUELLETTE, JONATHAN P
• Application Number:
  US09/929,859
• Time in Patent Office: 2,374 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1
• US Class Current: 705/321
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1053 Employment or hiring
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products

Abstract

The present invention is directed to systems and methods for facilitating an employer'"'"'s compliance with employment laws. A typical system includes a data store for storing compliance information, a processor for supporting compliance functionality and a link to a communication channel allowing communication with one or more agents of an employer. A request to interact is received from an agent indicating a selected employment action. The agent is provided access to process documentation guiding him through a process associated with the selected employment action. The agent'"'"'s interactions with the process documentation are stored. Compliance reports are generated and sent to appropriate employer agents. Some embodiments may support process documentation development and update. An education facility may be provided in some embodiments.

Claims

1. A method of facilitating compliance with employment laws having varying requirements, and establishing such compliance, the method comprising the steps of:

a) receiving a request to interact from an agent of an employer, wherein the received interaction request comprises an action indicator corresponding to a selected employment action;

b) providing access to process documentation related to a process associated with the selected employment action, wherein the process is designed to minimize potential for non-compliance with the employment laws, wherein the process documentation guides the agent through the process via interactions between the agent and the process documentation via the user input and output devices, wherein the accessed process documentation is provided and maintained by an employment law information source external to the employer;

c) storing information related to agent interactions with the process documentation in a compliance data store;

d) generating a compliance report based upon the stored interaction information; and

e) sending the generated compliance report to one or more report agents of the employer via an output device associate with each;

f) creating by the employment law information source a set of employment actions impacting compliance with the employment laws;

g) creating by the employment law information source a process associated with each employment action in the set and documentation related to each such process supporting execution of the respective process; and

h) storing the created set and the created process documentation in a presentation data store.

2. The method of claim 1, and further comprising the step of i) reviewing the one or more of the employment laws for requirements and wherein the steps of creating the set of employment actions, processes associated with each action and documentation associated therewith are based upon the requirements determined during the review of the employment laws.

3. The method of claim 1, and further comprising the step of i) updating the created set of employment actions, the created processes and the created documentation based upon developments in human resources best practices.

4. The method of claim 1, and further comprising the step of i) updating the created set of employment actions, the created processes and the created documentation based upon developments in employment law.

5. The method of claim 4, and further comprising the step of j) reviewing the employment laws for requirements on a periodic basis and wherein the step of updating the created set, the created processes and the created documents occurs as a result of changes in the employment laws identified during the periodic reviews.

6. The method of claim 1, and further comprising the step of i) updating the created set of employment actions, the created processes and the created documentation based upon changes in business practices of the employer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing access to the process documentation comprises the steps of retrieving the process documentation from the presentation data store and sending the retrieved process documentation to an output device associated with the agent.

8. The method of claim 1, and further comprising the steps of i) selecting one or more employment actions from the created set for inclusion in a list of employment actions impacting compliance with the employment laws;

j) providing the agent with an employment action selection interface that allows the agent to select an employment action from the list via a user input device; and

wherein the received interaction request is received from the provided employment action selection interface.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of selecting one or more employment actions is based upon a relationship between the agent and the employer.

10. The method of claim 9, and further comprising the steps of k) receiving agent identification information corresponding to the agent and l) determining the agent'"'"'s relationship with the employer based upon the received agent identification information.

11. The method of claim 1, and further comprising the step of i) providing the agent with an employment action selection interface that allows the agent to select an employment action from a list of employment actions impacting compliance with the employment laws via a user input device;

and wherein the received interaction request is received from the provided employment action selection interface.

12. The method of claim 11, and further comprising the step of i) receiving the list of employment actions from the employment law information source.

13. The method of claim 12, and further comprising the step of k) requesting the list from the employment law information source.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the request to the employment law information source comprises information indicating a relationship between the agent and the employer.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the information indicating the relationship between the agent and the employer comprises agent identification information corresponding to the agent from which the agent'"'"'s relationship with the employer may be determined.

16. The method of claim 11, and further comprising the steps of j) receiving a set of employment actions from the employment law information source and k) creating the list of employment actions from the received set of employment actions.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of creating the list comprises the step of selecting one or more employment actions from the received set for inclusion in the list of employment actions.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing access to the process documentation comprises the step of directing an output device associated with the agent to the process documentation via the employment law information source.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the received interaction request is received from a human resources computer program being executed by the agent.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing access to the process documentation comprises the step of accessing an employment data store associated with the employer to retrieve employment data associated with at least one employee involved with the selected employment action.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing access to the process documentation comprises the step of accessing an employment data store associated with the employer to store employment data associated with at least one employee involved with the selected employment action.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of storing information related to the interactions of the agent comprises the step of accessing an employment data store associated with the employer to store employment data associated with at least one employee involved with the selected employment action.

23. The method of claim 1, and further comprising the steps of i) providing access to employment sensitivity materials selected from the group consisting of employer policy statements, procedure statements, training materials and combinations thereof to designated agents of employer;

j) monitoring each designated agent'"'"'s interactions with the employment law sensitivity materials; and

k) storing the monitored interactions in the compliance data store.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the step of providing access to employment law sensitivity materials occurs on a periodic basis.

25. The method of claim 23, and further comprising the step of l) selecting the employment law sensitivity materials to which each designated agent is provided access based upon a relationship between the agent and the employer.

26. The method of claim 25, and further comprising the steps of m) receiving agent identification information corresponding to the agent and n) determining the agent'"'"'s relationship with the employer based upon the received agent identification information.

27. The method of claim 23, and further comprising the step of l) sending a notification to one or more designated agents to participate in employment compliance education.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the notification comprises a link to the employment sensitivity materials.

29. The method of claim 27, and further comprising the step of m) selecting one or more agents of the employer as designated agents to receive employment compliance education.

30. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating a compliance report comprises the step of generating an exception report whenever an interaction by an agent falls outside quantifiable and objective pre-set parameters.

31. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating a compliance report comprises the step of generating an exception report whenever a failure of an agent to interact falls outside quantifiable and objective pre-set parameters.

32. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating a compliance report comprises the step of generating a compliance report with respect to all instances of a particular employment action.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the step of generating a compliance report occurs in response to a request and wherein the request comprises an indicator of a particular employment action.

34. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating a compliance report comprises the step of generating a compliance report with respect to a single instance of an application of a particular employment action.

35. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating a compliance report occurs at periodic intervals.

36. The method of claim 1, and further comprising the step of i) receiving a request for a compliance report from an agent of the employer and wherein the step of generating a compliance report occurs as a result of the received request.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the received request comprises an indicator indicating one or more sorting criteria selected from the group consisting of agent name, date, time period, department, location, employee name, employment action, type of activity and combinations thereof.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein the request for a compliance report comprises information indicating a relationship between the agent and the employer.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the information indicating the relationship between the agent and the employer comprises agent identification information corresponding to the agent from which the agent'"'"'s relationship with the employer may be determined.

40. The method of claim 36, and further comprising the step of j) providing a report request interface via which the agent may submit a compliance report request and wherein the received request for a compliance report is received from the provided interface.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the provided interface allows the agent to select one or more criterion selected from the group consisting of agent name, date, time period, department, location, employee name, employment action and type of activity and to submit an indicator of the selected one or more criterion as part of a compliance report request.

42. The method of claim 1, wherein each output device associated with a report agent is of a type selected from the group consisting of printer, printer with hard copy forward, facsimile machine, telephone, email account and computer.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the output device associated with a selected report agent is a printer with hard copy forward and further comprising the step of i) forwarding the generated report sent to the printer to the selected report agent via a delivery mechanism selected from the group consisting of courier service, postal service and facsimile.

44. The method of claim 1, wherein the action indicator corresponds to employee selection and wherein the steps of providing access to process documentation and storing information related to agent interactions comprise the steps of:

i) providing the agent with access to the stored expressions of interest in an available position;

ii) providing the agent with access to an interactive checklist of items to be completed in a compliant job selection process using associated documentation comprising at least one document of a documentation type selected from the group consisting of available position information, job description associated with the available position, a set of selection interview questions associated with the available position and affirmative action plan goals and timetable associated with the available position; and

iii) receiving and storing the interactions of the agent with the interactive checklist.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the steps of providing access to process documentation and storing information related to agent interactions further comprise the steps of:

iv) providing the agent with a job description interface to select a selected job description from a list of job descriptions via the user output device;

v) receiving from the provided interface a job description indicator corresponding to the selected job description entered by the agent via the user input device;

vi) providing the agent with an available position interface via which the agent may enter information related to an available position corresponding to the selected job description;

vii) receiving the entered available position information from the provided available position interface; and

viii) storing the received available position information.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein the steps of providing access to process documentation and storing information related to agent interactions further comprise the steps of:

ix) receiving requests for the stored available position information from one or more requesting agents of the employer;

x) providing access to the stored available position information in response to each received request and to an interface by which a requesting agent to whom access to the stored available position information is provided may express an interest in the available position; and

xi) receiving and storing expressions of interest in the available position.

47. The method of claim 44, wherein the steps of providing access to process documentation and storing information related to agent interactions further comprise the steps of:

iv) receiving requests for the stored available position information from one or more requesting agents of the employer;

v) providing access to the stored available position information in response to each received request and to an interface by which a requesting agent to whom access to the stored available position information is provided may express an interest in the available position; and

vi) receiving and storing expressions of interest in the available position.

48. The method of claim 1, wherein the received indicator corresponds to investigating an employee complaint and wherein the steps of providing access to process documentation and storing information related to agent interactions comprise the steps of:

i) receiving and storing complaint information corresponding to one or more complaints submitted by one or more employees of the employer;

ii) providing access to the stored complaint information via the user output device associated with the agent

iii) providing the agent with access to an interactive checklist of items to be completed in a compliant employee complaint investigation using associated retrieved documentation comprising at least one document of a documentation type selected from the group consisting of the stored complaint information and sets of interview questions appropriate for the victim, the offender and other witnesses;

iv) providing the agent with access to a template report and recommendations interface via which the investigating agent may enter information related to the investigation of the complaint and recommendations for action; and

v) receiving and storing the interactions of the investigating agent with the interactive checklist and the template report and recommendations interface.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein the step of receiving and storing complaint information comprises the steps of:

(1) providing an employee of the employer with an interface via which complaint information may be entered; and

(2) receiving and storing the complaint information received from the provided interface.

50. The method of claim 1, wherein the received indicator corresponds to regular performance evaluation and wherein the steps of providing access to process documentation and storing information related to agent interactions comprise the steps of:

i) providing the agent with a calendar interface to select a named employee'"'"'s evaluation due date from a list of dates on which regular performance evaluations are due for all employees;

ii) receiving from the provided calendar interface a due date indicator corresponding to the selected named employee'"'"'s evaluation due date;

iii) providing the agent with a job description interface to select a job description corresponding to the job held by the selected named employee;

iv) receiving from the provided interface a job description indicator corresponding to the selected job description;

v) providing the selected named employee with a self-evaluation interface via which information related to a self-evaluation may be entered;

vi) receiving and storing the entered information related to the selected named employee'"'"'s self-evaluation;

vii) providing the agent with access to an interactive checklist of items to be completed in a compliant regular performance evaluation process, using associated retrieved documentation comprising at least one document of a document type selected from the group consisting of the stored self evaluation, the stored job description, and stored previous regular performance evaluations of the selected named employee; and

viii) receiving and storing the information related to the evaluating agent'"'"'s interactions with the checklist.

51. The method of claim 1, wherein the received indicator corresponds to introductory performance evaluation and wherein the steps of providing access to process documentation and storing information related to agent interactions comprise the steps of:

i) providing the agent with a new hire interface to select a new hire from a list of names of employees hired within a pre-set period of time;

ii) receiving from the provided interface an indicator corresponding to the selected new hire;

iii) providing the agent with a job description interface to select a job description corresponding to the job held by the selected new hire;

iv) receiving from the provided interface an indicator corresponding to the selected job description;

v) providing the agent access to an interactive checklist of items to be completed in a compliant introductory performance evaluation process, using associated retrieved documentation comprising the selected job description;

vi) providing the agent with an evaluation interface via which the agent may enter information related to an evaluation of the new hire'"'"'s performance;

vii) receiving the entered information related to the evaluation; and

viii) storing the received information related to the evaluation.

52. The method of claim 1, wherein the received indicator corresponds to corrective action and wherein the steps of providing access to process documentation and storing information related to agent interactions comprise the steps of:

i) providing the agent who perceived a conduct or performance problem with an employee subject to corrective action with access to an interactive checklist of items to completed in a compliant corrective action process using associated documentation comprising at least one document of a document type selected from the group consisting of a job description associated with the employee'"'"'s position and a rule of conduct;

ii) providing the agent with an interface into which the agent may enter information related to the corrective action; and

iii) receiving and storing the information related to the corrective action received from the provided interface.

53. The method of claim 52, wherein the steps of providing access to process documentation and storing information related to agent interactions further comprise the steps of:

iv) providing the agent with a job description interface from which a selected job description associated with the employee may be selected; and

v) receiving an indicator of the selected job description.

54. The method of claim 52, wherein the steps of providing access to process documentation and storing information related to agent interactions further comprise the steps of:

iv) providing the agent with a rules of conduct interface from which one or more selected rules of conduct perceived as violated by the employee may be selected; and

v) receiving an indicator of the selected one or more rule of conduct.

55. The method of claim 1, wherein the received indicator corresponds to ADA analysis and wherein the steps of providing access to process documentation and storing information related to agent interactions comprise the steps of:

i) receiving and storing ability to perform information associated with an applicant;

ii) providing an agent of the employer with access to stored ability to perform information associated with the applicant;

iii) providing the agent with access to an interactive checklist of items to be completed in a compliant ADA analysis process using associated retrieved documentation comprising at least one document of a type selected from the group consisting of a job description and template communications to obtain information related to the applicant; and

iv) receiving and storing the interactions of the agent with the interactive checklist.

56. Them method claim 55, wherein the step of receiving and storing ability to perform information comprises the steps of:

(1) providing the applicant with a job description interface with which the applicant indicate a selected job description;

(2) receiving an indicator of the selected job description from the provided job description interface;

(3) providing the applicant with an ability to perform interface via which the applicant may enter information related to his/her ability to perform the essential functions of a job corresponding to the selected job description;

(4) receiving the entered ability to perform information from the provided ability to perform interface; and

(5) storing the received ability to perform information.

57. The method of claim 1, wherein the received indicator corresponds to FMLA management and wherein the steps of providing access to process documentation and storing information related to agent interactions comprise the steps of:

i) receiving and storing a request for leave;

ii) providing the agent with access to the stored requests for leave;

iii) providing the agent with access to an interactive checklist of items to be completed in a compliant FMLA management process, using associated retrieved documentation comprising at least one document of a type selected from the group consisting of a job description and template communications to obtain information relating to the request for leave;

iv) providing the agent with access to an interface via which the agent may enter information relating to the request for leave; and

v) receiving and storing the interactions of the agent with the interactive checklist; and

the information relating to the request for leave.

58. The method of claim 57, wherein the step of receiving and storing the request for leave comprises the step of:

(1) providing an interface via which an employee may request a leave;

(2) receiving a leave request from the provided interface; and

(3) storing the receive leave request.

59. The method of claim 1, wherein the received indicator corresponds to workplace violence prevention and wherein the steps of providing access to process documentation and storing information related to agent interactions comprise the steps of:

i) receiving and storing a report of a threat of violence;

ii) providing the agent with access to an interactive checklist of items to be completed in a compliant threat response process using associated retrieved documentation consisting of investigation guidelines, screening tools for use in criminal records checks, references and interviews, and confrontation model guidelines;

iii) providing the agent with access to an interface by which the agent can enter information related to the threat of violence;

iv) receiving and storing the interactions of the agent with the interactive checklist and information related to the threat of violence.

60. The method of claim 59, wherein the step of receiving and storing the report comprises the steps of:

(1) providing to an agent an interface via which a report threats of violence may be entered;

(2) receiving the report from the provided interface; and

(3) storing the received report.

61. The method of claim 1, wherein the received indicator corresponds to employment relationship classification and wherein the steps of providing access to process documentation and storing information related to agent interactions comprise the steps of:

i) providing an agent with access to an interactive checklist of items to be completed in a compliant employment relationship classification process using associated retrieved documentation consisting of a job description template;

ii) providing the agent with access to an interface with the job description template by which the agent may enter information about the job;

iii) receiving and storing the interactions of the agent with the interactive checklists, and the information about the job.

62. The method of claim 1, wherein the received indicator corresponds to overtime exemption classification and wherein the steps of providing access to process documentation and storing information related to agent interactions comprise the steps of:

i) providing an agent with access to an interactive checklist of items to be completed in a compliant overtime exemption classification process using associated retrieved documentation consisting of a job description template;

ii) providing the agent with access to an interface with the job description template by which the agent may enter information about the job;

iii) receiving and storing the interactions of the agent with both the interactive checklists, and the information about the job.

63. The method of claim 1, wherein the received indicator corresponds to reductions in force and wherein the steps of providing access to process documentation and storing information related to agent interactions comprise the steps of:

i) providing an agent with access to an interactive checklist of items to be completed in a compliant reduction in force selection process; and

ii) receiving and storing the interactions of the agent with the interactive reduction in force selection checklist.

64. The method of claim 63, wherein the steps of providing access to process documentation and storing information related to agent interactions further comprise the steps of:

iii) providing an agent with access to an interactive WARN checklist of items to be completed in a compliant WARN Act notification process, using associated retrieved documentation consisting of a WARN notice template; and

iv) receiving and storing the interactions of the agent with the interactive WARN Act notification checklist.

65. The method of claim 64, wherein the steps of providing access to process documentation and storing information related to agent interactions further comprise the steps of:

v) providing an agent with access to an interactive OWBPA checklist of items to be completed in a compliant OWBPA waiver process, using associated retrieved documentation consisting of severance agreement templates;

vi) providing the agent with an interface via which the agent may enter information related to a severance agreement; and

vii) receiving and storing the interactions of the agent with the interactive OWBPA waiver checklist, and information related to the severance agreement.

66. The method of claim 63, wherein the steps of providing access to process documentation and storing information related to agent interactions further comprise the steps of:

iii) providing an agent with access to an interactive OWBPA checklist of items to be completed in a compliant OWBPA waiver process, using associated retrieved documentation consisting of severance agreement templates;

iv) providing the agent with an interface via which the agent may enter information related to a severance agreement; and

v) receiving and storing the interactions of the agent with the interactive OWBPA waiver checklist, and information related to the severance agreement.

67. The method of claim 1, wherein the received interaction request further comprises agent identification information and further comprising the step of i) verifying that the agent has authority to perform tasks associated with the selected employment action.

68. The method of claim 67, wherein the step of verifying the authority comprises the step of accessing a human resources database associated with the employer based upon the agent identification information.

69. The method of claim 67, wherein the received interaction request further comprises verification information and wherein the step of verifying the authority comprises the steps of:

i) accessing stored verification information associated with the agent from an agent data store based upon the agent identification information; and

ii) comparing the verification information with the stored verification information.

70. The method of claim 1, and further comprising the steps of i) providing an administrative interface to an administrative agent via which the administrative agent may enter information associated with a new agent and j) receiving from the administrative interface the entered information associated with the new agent;

and k) storing the received information associated with the new agent in an agent data store.

71. The method of claim 70, wherein the received information associated with the new agent comprises agent identification information associated with the new agent.

72. The method of claim 71, wherein the received information associated with the new agent further comprises verification information associated with the new agent.

73. The method of claim 71, wherein the received information associated with the new agent further comprises an indication of employment action for which the new agent has authority.

74. A system for facilitating compliance with employment laws having varying requirements, and establishing such compliance, the system comprising:

a) a system data store comprising;

i) a compliance data store for storing interactions of agents of an employer with process documentation;

b) a link to a communication channel allowing communication with agents of an employer;

c) a system processor in communication with the system data store and the link, wherein the system processor executes one or more processes that perform tasks comprising of;

i) receiving a request to interact from an agent of an employer, wherein the received interaction request comprises an action indicator corresponding to a selected employment action from a set of employment action specified by an employment law information source external to the employer based upon laws promulgated by a legislature;

ii) providing access to process documentation related to a process associated with the selected employment action, wherein the process is designed to minimize potential for non-compliance with the employment laws, wherein the process documentation guides the agent through the process via interactions between the agent and the process documentation via the user input and output devices, wherein the accessed process documentation is provided and maintained by the employment law information source external to the employer and created by the employment law information source based upon laws promulgated by the legislature;

iii) storing information related to agent interactions with the process documentation in the compliance data store;

iv) generating a compliance report based upon the stored interaction information; and

v) sending the generated compliance report to one or more report agents of the employer via an output device associate with each.

75. The system of claim 74, wherein the communication channel is selected from the group consisting of computer network, direct serial or parallel connection, dial-up connection, wireless connection, bus connection and combinations thereof.

76. The system of claim 75, wherein the communication channel is the Internet.

77. The system of claim 74, wherein the system data store has an architecture selected from the group consisting of a flat file, a hash table, a database and combinations thereof.

78. The system of claim 77, wherein the system data store comprises a database and wherein the database has an organization selected from the group consisting of hierarchical, object-oriented, relational, object-relational, spatial and combinations thereof.

79. The system of claim 74, wherein the system data store comprises a plurality of storage subsystems.

80. The system of claim 74, wherein the system data store further comprises a content data store for storing process documentation.

81. The system of claim 74, wherein the system data store further comprises an agent data store for storing information associated with agents of employers.

82. The system of claim 81, wherein the system data store further comprises a content data store.

83. The system of claim 74, wherein the system data store comprises at least one data processor, wherein the at least one data processor is in communication with the system processor and receives and services data requests from the system processor.

84. The system of claim 74, wherein the system processor comprises a plurality of processing elements, wherein each of the processing elements runs processes that perform a subset of tasks i) through v) and wherein the union of the subsets of task performed by the processes executing on the plurality of processing elements comprises all tasks i) through v).

85. The system of claim 74, wherein the link is of a type selected from the group consisting of a modem, a serial or parallel interface, a computer network interface, a bus interface and combinations thereof.

86. The system of claim 74, wherein the link further interfaces with a communication channel allowing communication with an employment information source.

87. The system of claim 74, and further comprising a second link to a communication channel allowing communication with an employment information source.

88. The system of claim 74, wherein the system processor performs the further tasks comprising of:

vi) providing access to employment law sensitivity materials selected from the group consisting of employer policy statements, employer procedure statements, training materials and combinations thereof to designated agents of employer;

vii) monitoring each designated agent'"'"'s interactions with the employment law sensitivity materials; and

viii) storing the monitored interactions in the compliance data store.

89. A computer readable storage environment storing instructions that upon execution by one or more system computers cause the one or more system computers to facilitate compliance with employment laws having varying requirements, and establish such compliance, by performing the steps comprising of:

a) receiving a request to interact from an agent of an employer, wherein the received interaction request comprises an action indicator corresponding to a selected employment action from a set of employment action specified by an employment law information source external to the employer based upon laws promulgated by a legislature;

b) providing access to process documentation related to a process associated with the selected employment action, wherein the process is designed to minimize potential for non-compliance with the employment laws, wherein the process documentation guides the agent through the process via interactions between the agent and the process documentation via the user input and output devices, wherein the accessed process documentation is provided and maintained by the employment law information source external to the employer and created by the employment law information source based upon laws promulgated by the legislature;

c) storing information related to agent interactions with the process documentation in a compliance data store;

d) generating a compliance report based upon the stored interaction information; and

e) sending the generated compliance report to one or more report agents of the employer via an output device associate with each.

90. The storage environment of claim 89, wherein the storage environment comprises at least one storage device of a type selected from the group consisting of RAM, ROM, hard disk drive, removable magnetic diskette, optical diskette and combination thereof.

91. The storage environment of claim 90, wherein the storage environment comprises a plurality of storage devices, wherein each of the plurality of storage devices is of a type selected from the group consisting of RAM, ROM, hard disk drive, removable magnetic diskette, optical diskette and combination thereof.

92. The storage environment of claim 89, storing further instructions that upon execution by one or more system computers cause the one or more system computers to perform the steps comprising of:

f) providing access to employment law sensitivity materials selected from the group consisting of employer policy statements, employer procedure statements, training materials and combinations thereof to designated agents of employer;

g) monitoring each designated agent'"'"'s interactions with the employment law sensitivity materials; and

h) storing the monitored interactions in the compliance data store.

93. A system for facilitating compliance with employment laws having varying requirements, and establishing such compliance, the system comprising:

a) storage means for at least storing interactions of agents of an employer with process documentation;

b) linking means for allowing communication with agents of an employer via a communication channel;

c) processing means in communication with the storage and linking means for;

i) receiving a request to interact from an agent of an employer, wherein the received interaction request comprises an action indicator corresponding to a selected employment action from a set of employment action specified by an employment law information source external to the employer based upon laws promulgated by a legislature;

ii) providing access to process documentation related to a process associated with the selected employment action, wherein the process is designed to minimize potential for non-compliance with the employment laws, wherein the process documentation guides the agent through the process via interactions between the agent and the process documentation via the user input and output devices, wherein the accessed process documentation is provided and maintained by the employment law information source external to the employer;

iii) storing information related to agent interactions with the process documentation in the compliance data store;

iv) generating a compliance report based upon the stored interaction information; and

v) sending the generated compliance report to one or more report agents of the employer via an output device associate with each; and

d) receiving means for receiving the process documentation from the employment law information source.

94. The system of claim 93, wherein the processing means is for further vi) providing access to employment law sensitivity materials selected from the group consisting of employer policy statements, employer procedure statements, training materials and combinations thereof to designated agents of employer;

vii) monitoring each designated agent'"'"'s interactions with the employment law sensitivity materials; and

viii) storing the monitored interactions in the storage means.