Method and system for assessing penalties associated with an employee without a job assignment

• US 8,583,462 B2
• Filed: 10/07/2011
• Issued: 11/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canadian National Railway Company
• Original Assignee: Canadian National Railway Company
• Inventors: Podgurny, Leonard John, Randall, Alan Bruce, Owens, Matthew Oren, Moroz, Michael Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): Dixon, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fields, Benjamin S
• Application Number:
  US13/268,100
• Publication Number:
  US 20120089432A1
• Time in Patent Office: 767 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7.11, 705/7.42
• US Class Current: 705/7.11
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/105 Human resources

Abstract

A method for managing the application of penalties to employees of a company. The method comprises executing software encoded on a machine readable storage medium by a CPU to implement a job assignment monitoring function, the job assignment monitoring function monitoring events occurring in the course of a job assignment procedure during which a server arrangement communicates with a remote client over a data network to present an employee at the remote client with a job proposal, detecting among the monitored events a penalty triggering event and in response to the detecting, determining a penalty to be applied to the employee on the basis of the penalty triggering event. The method further comprises recording in an employee record stored in a database, data derived from the determining to register the penalty applied to the employee.

Claims

1. A method for managing the application of penalties to employees of a company, said method comprising:

a) executing software encoded on a machine readable storage medium by a CPU to;

i) implement a job assignment monitoring function, the job assignment monitoring function monitoring events occurring in the course of a job assignment procedure during which a server arrangement communicates with a remote client over a data network to present an employee at the remote client with a job proposal;

ii) detecting among the monitored events a penalty triggering event;

iii) in response to the detecting, determining a penalty to be applied to the employee on the basis of the penalty triggering event;

b) recording in an employee record stored in database, data derived from the determining to register the penalty applied to the employee.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the data derived from the determining is recorded in the employee record after a predetermined grace period has elapsed from the occurrence of the penalty triggering event.

3. A method as defined in claim 2, including detecting among the monitored events a penalty negating event occurring subsequent the penalty triggering event, the occurrence of the penalty negating event precluding registering the penalty in the employee record.

4. A method as defined in claim 1, including generating a notification to the employee via the remote client to notify the employee that a penalty triggering event has occurred.

5. A method as defined in claim 4, wherein the notification provides particulars of the penalty to which the employee is exposed.

6. A method as defined in claim 5, wherein the notification conveys information about an action the employee can perform to negate the penalty.

7. A method as defined in claim 6, wherein the notification indicates a grace period in which the action has to be performed to negate the penalty.

8. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the penalty triggering event is selected from the group consisting of failure by the employee to accept the job proposal and notification to the employee via the remote client withdrawing the job proposal from the employee.

9. A method as defined in claim 8, wherein the failure of the employee to accept the job proposal includes a notification sent by the employee from the remote client to the server arrangement that the employee refuses the job proposal.

10. A method as defined in claim 3, wherein the job proposal is a first job proposal, the penalty negating event including a notification sent by the employee from the remote client to the server arrangement indicating that the employee accepts a second job proposal, distinct from the first job proposal.

11. A method for managing the application of penalties to employees of a company, said method comprising:

a) executing software encoded on a machine readable storage medium by a CPU to;

i) implement a job assignment monitoring function, the job assignment monitoring function monitoring events occurring in the course of a job assignment procedure during which a server arrangement communicates with a remote client over a data network;

ii) detecting among the monitored events;

(1) a first event relating to a notification sent from the server arrangement to the employee via the remote client to inform the employee of a job proposal;

(2) a second event indicative of a failure of the employee to accept the job proposal, wherein the job proposal is a first job proposal;

iii) in response to the detecting, determining;

(1) a penalty to be applied to the employee;

(2) a grace period during which the penalty can be avoided if the employee accepts a second job proposal distinct from the first job proposal;

b) in the event the penalty is not avoided, recording in an employee record stored in database data to make the penalty effective.

12. A method as defined in claim 11, wherein the penalty includes vacation time reduction for the employee.

13. A method as defined in claim 12, wherein the data recorded in the employee record indicates a length of time by which the vacation time of the employee is reduced.

14. A method as defined in claim 11, wherein the method includes sending to the employee via the remote client a notification to inform the employee about the possible penalty and the grace period available to the employee to accept the second job proposal to avoid the penalty.

15. A method for managing the application of penalties to employees of a company, said method comprising:

a. executing software encoded on a machine readable storage medium by a CPU to;

i. implement a job assignment monitoring function, the job assignment monitoring function monitoring events occurring in the course of a job assignment procedure during which a server arrangement communicates with a remote client over a data network;

ii. detecting among the monitored events;

1. a first event indicative of notification to the employee that a job proposal previously made available to the employee is withdrawn from the employee, wherein the job proposal is a first job proposal;

2. a second event indicative of a failure of the employee to perform an action that could lead to a second job proposal being made available, distinct from the first job proposal within a predetermined time interval from the first event;

b. in response to detection of the second event recording in an employee record stored in database data to indicate that the employee is subjected to a penalty.

16. A computer readable storage medium encoded with non-transitory software for execution by a CPU for detecting penalty occurring events in the course of a job assignment procedure during which employees of a business organization are presented with job assignments, wherein the job assignment procedure is governed by rules allowing the employees of the business organization to accept or refuse job assignments, the job assignment procedure including generating at a server arrangement a message to a remote client over a data network to present an employee of the business organization at the remote client with a job assignment, the software being configured for:

(a) monitoring interactions between the remote client and the server arrangement to detect a penalty triggering event including a failure of the employee to comply with one or more of the rules governing the job assignment procedure;

(b) in response to a detection of a penalty triggering event, determining a penalty to be applied to the employee; and

(c) recording in an employee record stored in a database data to register the penalty applied to the employee of the business organization.

17. A computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 16, wherein the software is configured for sending a notification to the employee of the business organization via the remote client to notify the employee of the business organization that a penalty has been applied to the employee of the business organization.

18. A computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 17, wherein the notification provides particulars of the penalty applied to the employee of the business organization.

19. A computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 17, wherein the notification provides information about a grace period that was offered to the employee to negate the penalty and that was not met.

20. A computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 17, wherein the notification provides information about a notice previously sent to the employee notifying the employee of the business organization that a penalty would be applied against the employee of the business organization.

21. A computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 16, wherein the employee record stores information about non-wage compensation the employee of the business organization is entitled to, the data registering the penalty applied to the employee of the business organization indicating a reduction of the non-wage compensation.

22. A computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 21, wherein the non-wage compensation includes vacation time, the data registering the penalty applied to the employee of the business organization indicating a loss of vacation time.

23. A computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 21, wherein the non-wage compensation includes vacation time, the data registering the penalty applied to the employee of the business organization indicating that the employee of the business organization is barred from taking vacation during a certain period of the year.

24. A computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 16, wherein the employee record stores information about a wage of the employee of the business organization, the data registering the penalty applied to the employee of the business organization indicating a reduction of the wage of the employee of the business organization.

25. A computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 16, wherein the employee record stores information about a seniority rank of the employee of the business organization, the data registering the penalty applied to the employee of the business organization indicating a reduction of the seniority rank of the employee.

26. A computer readable storage medium encoded with non-transitory software for execution by a CPU for detecting penalty occurring events in the course of a job assignment procedure during which employees of a business organization are presented with job assignments, wherein the job assignment procedure is governed by rules allowing the employees of the business organization to accept or refuse job assignments, the job assignment procedure including generating at a server arrangement a message to a remote client over a data network to present an employee of the business organization at the remote client with a job assignment, the software being configured for:

(a) monitoring interactions between the remote client and the server arrangement to detect a penalty triggering event including a failure to of the employee to comply with one or more of the rules governing the job assignment procedure;

(b) determining in response to the detecting conditions the employee of the business organization must satisfy to avoid application of a penalty;

(c) sending a notification to the employee of the business organization via the remote client to indicate to the employee of the business organization that a penalty triggering event has occurred, the notification providing information about the conditions the employee of the business organization must satisfy to avoid application of the penalty; and

(d) recording in an employee record stored in a database data indicating that a penalty triggering event has occurred.

27. A computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 26, wherein the software is configured for determining in response to the detecting particulars of the penalty to which the employee of the business organization is exposed.

28. A computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 27, wherein the notification provides the particulars of the penalty to which the employee of the business organization is exposed.

29. A computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 26, wherein the software is configured to recognize a message sent from the remote client to the server arrangement indicating that the employee of the business organization refuses the job assignment, as a penalty triggering event.

30. A computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 26, wherein the software is configured to recognize an absence of acknowledgement of receipt to the message presenting the employee of the business organization with the job assignment, as a penalty triggering event.

31. A computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 26, wherein the software is configured to recognize an absence of acceptance by the employee of the business organization of the job assignment presented to the employee of the business organization, as a penalty triggering event.

32. A computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 26, wherein the software is configured to recognize a withdrawal of the job assignment presented to the employee of the business organization as a result of a failure of the employee to acknowledge receipt of the message presenting the job assignment, as a penalty triggering event.

33. A computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 26, wherein the software is configured to recognize a withdrawal of the job assignment presented to the employee of the business organization as a result of a failure of the employee to accept the job assignment, as a penalty triggering event.

34. A computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 26, wherein the software is configured to recognize a failure of the employee of the business organization to search for a new job assignment when the job assignment presented in the message is taken by another employee of the business organization, as a penalty triggering event.