Researchers Submit Patent Application, “Personalized Pay”, for Approval (USPTO 20230334593): ADP Inc.

2023 NOV 02 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- From Washington, D.C., NewsRx journalists report that a patent application by the inventors Plotko, Dimitry (Alpharetta, GA, US); Schuster, Eric (Alpharetta, GA, US), filed on April 21, 2023, was made available online on October 19, 2023.

The patent’s assignee is ADP Inc. (Roseland, New Jersey, United States).

News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “The present disclosure relates generally to an improved computer system and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for processing payroll, still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for processing payroll according to an employee-specified payroll schedule.

“Information systems are used for many different purposes. The different operations performed using the information system may be referred to as transactions. For example, an information system may be used to process payroll to generate paychecks for employees in an organization. The different operations performed to generate paychecks for a pay period using the information system may be referred to as a transaction.

“Information systems are used for many different purposes. For example, an information system may be used to process payroll to generate paychecks for employees in an organization. Additionally, an information system also may be used by a human resources department to maintain benefits and other records about employees. For example, a human resources department may manage health insurance, wellness plans, and other programs and organizations using an employee information system. As yet another example, an information system may be used to determine when to hire new employees, assign employees to projects, perform reviews for employees, and other suitable operations for the organization.

“Every employer is faced with the regular generation of payroll for its employees. Initially, payroll processing was an arduous manual task, requiring the responsible individual to compute the base pay, applicable taxes, and other deductions for each of the employer’s employees. Initially, these calculations were performed by hand. Later, these calculations were performed with the assistance of adding machines, calculators, and, finally, computers. Over time, automated systems have been developed to calculate pay, produce payroll checks, and even to make the automatic payroll deposits into an employee’s bank account for employees participating in a direct deposit program.

“Current payroll systems operate on a set payroll schedule, paying out compensation to employees on predetermined paydays set by the employer. This set schedule can create financial wellness challenges for employees who have to set their spending patterns based on when their employer decides they should be paid.

“As a workaround, some employers allow employees to request an advance on their pay. However, current payday payroll systems require a human resources department to respond to these requests for payroll events.

“Alternatively, employees may use alternative lending methods, such as payday loans, when they require money in between paydays. However, due to their typically high interest rates, payday loans are rarely helpful to an employee’s long-term financial well-being.

“Emerging early wage access companies have attempted to provide a technology-based, fintech solution to solve this problem. However, few payroll providers offer access to these early access services. Furthermore, existing fintech solutions do not deliver a compliant payroll payment, processing all the required regulatory filings, tax withholdings and transfer funds according to the employer’s obligations. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus that take into account at least some of the issues discussed above, as well as other possible issues.”

As a supplement to the background information on this patent application, NewsRx correspondents also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer-implemented method for providing wage payments to an employee according to an employee-specified pay schedule. A computer system receives a payroll event for the employee. In response to receiving the payroll event, the computer system interprets a first structured data object for processing payroll. In interpreting the first structured data object, the computer system identifies an employee-specified pay schedule according to an employee context interpreted from the first structured data object. In interpreting the first structured data object, the computer system determines that a wage payment should be made to the employee according to the employee-specified pay schedule. Responsive to determining that the wage payment should be made, the computer system transmits an order for the wage payment to the employee to a specified wage payment proxy server via a network using a specified communication channel to pay the employee.

“Another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer system comprising a hardware processor unit and a payroll processor for providing wage payments to an employee according to an employee-specified pay schedule. The payroll processor is configured to receive a payroll event for an employee. The payroll processor is further configured to interpret a first structured data object for processing payroll in response to receiving the payroll event. In interpreting the first structured data object, the payroll processor identifies an employee-specified pay schedule according to an employee context interpreted from the first structured data object. In interpreting the first structured data object, the payroll processor determines that a wage payment should be made to the employee according to the employee-specified pay schedule. In interpreting the first structured data object, the payroll processor transmits an order in response to determining that the wage payment should be made. The order for the wage payment to the employee is transmitted to a specified wage payment proxy server via a network using a specified communication channel to pay the employee.

“Yet another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer program product for providing wage payments to an employee according to an employee-specified pay schedule. The computer program product comprises a computer readable storage media, and program code stored on the computer-readable storage media. The program code includes code for receiving a payroll event for the employee. The program code includes code for interpreting a first structured data object for processing payroll in response to receiving the payroll event. The program code for interpreting the first structured data object includes program code for identifying an employee-specified pay schedule according to an employee context interpreted from the first structured data object; program code for determining that a wage payment should be made to the employee according to the employee-specified pay schedule; and program code for transmitting an order for the wage payment to the employee to a specified wage payment proxy server via a network using a specified communication channel to pay the employee in response to determining that the wage payment should be made.

“The features and functions can be achieved independently in various embodiments of the present disclosure or may be combined in yet other embodiments in which further details can be seen with reference to the following description and drawings.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1-21. (canceled)

“22. A computer-implemented method, comprising: receiving, by a computer system comprising one or more processors and memory, an indication of an occurrence of an event for an employee; identifying, by the computer system responsive to receiving the indication of the occurrence of the event, a first structured data object comprising a first transaction schedule established by an employer of the employee; identifying, by the computer system, a second structured data object comprising a second transaction schedule established by the employee; determining, by the computer system, that a property of the first transaction schedule conflicts with a property of the second transaction schedule; overriding, by the computer system responsive to determination that the first transaction schedule conflicts with the second transaction schedule, the property of the first transaction schedule with the property of the second transaction schedule; and executing, by the computer system, an electronic transaction to the employee according to the property of the second transaction schedule.

“23. The computer-implemented method of claim 22, wherein the event is selected from a timeclock event for the employee, a list of one or more salaried employees, and combinations thereof.

“24. The computer-implemented method of claim 22, wherein the second transaction schedule is selected from a group consisting of an hourly schedule, a shift-wise schedule, a daily schedule, a bidaily schedule, a semiweekly schedule, a weekly schedule, a biweekly schedule, a semimonthly schedule, a monthly schedule, a bimonthly schedule, a lunar schedule, a quarterly schedule, and an ad-hoc schedule.

“25. The computer-implemented method of claim 22, wherein identifying the second structured data object further includes: identifying, by the computer system, information according to an employee context indicated by the first structured data object.

“26. The computer-implemented method of claim 25, wherein the information comprises a default amount specified according to the first transaction schedule, and wherein the second structured data object further comprises rules for converting the default amount to the amount.

“27. The computer-implemented method of claim 22, wherein identifying the second structured data object includes: identifying, by the computer system, a second property of the second structured data object linked to the property of the first structured data object, wherein the property of the first structured data object and the second property of the second structured data object are linked responsive to an establishment of the second transaction schedule.

“28. The computer-implemented method of claim 22, further comprising: interpreting, by the computer system, the second structured data object in conjunction with the first structured data object.

“29. A computer system comprising: a hardware processor unit; and one or more processors configured to: receive an indication of an occurrence of an event for an employee; identify, responsive to receipt of the indication of the occurrence of the event, a first structured data object comprising a first transaction schedule established by an employer of the employee; identify a second structured data object comprising a second transaction schedule established by the employee; determine that a property of the first transaction schedule conflicts with a property of the second transaction schedule; override, responsive to determination that the first transaction schedule conflicts with the second transaction schedule, the property of the first transaction schedule with the property of the second transaction schedule; and execute an electronic transaction to the employee according to the property of the second transaction schedule.

“30. The computer system of claim 29, wherein the event is selected from a timeclock event for the employee, a list of one or more salaried employees, and combinations thereof.

“31. The computer system of claim 29, wherein the second transaction schedule is selected from a group consisting of an hourly schedule, a shift-wise schedule, a daily schedule, a bidaily schedule, a semiweekly schedule, a weekly schedule, a biweekly schedule, a semimonthly schedule, a monthly schedule, a bimonthly schedule, a lunar schedule, a quarterly schedule, and an ad-hoc schedule.

“32. The computer system of claim 29, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: identify information according to an employee context indicated by the first structured data object.

“33. The computer system of claim 32, wherein the information comprises a default amount specified according to the first transaction schedule, and wherein the second structured data object further comprises rules for converting the default amount to the amount.

“34. The computer system of claim 29, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: identify a second property of the second structured data object linked to the property of the first structured data object, wherein the property of the first structured data object and the second property of the second structured data object are linked responsive to an establishment of the second transaction schedule.

“35. The computer system of claim 29, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: interpret the second structured data object in conjunction with the first structured data object.

“36. A non-transitory computer readable storage media having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to implement operations comprising: receiving an indication of an occurrence of an event for an employee; identifying, responsive to receiving the indication of the occurrence of the event, a first structured data object comprising a first transaction schedule established by an employer of the employee; identifying a second structured data object comprising a second transaction schedule established by the employee; determining that a property of the first transaction schedule conflicts with a property of the second transaction schedule; overriding, responsive to determination that the first transaction schedule conflicts with the second transaction schedule, the property of the first transaction schedule with the property of the second transaction schedule; and executing an electronic transaction to the employee according to the property of the second transaction schedule.

“37. The non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 36, wherein the event is selected from a timeclock event for the employee, a list of one or more salaried employees, and combinations thereof.

“38. The non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 36, wherein the second transaction schedule is selected from a group consisting of an hourly schedule, a shift-wise schedule, a daily schedule, a bidaily schedule, a semiweekly schedule, a weekly schedule, a biweekly schedule, a semimonthly schedule, a monthly schedule, a bimonthly schedule, a lunar schedule, a quarterly schedule, and an ad-hoc schedule.

“39. The non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 36, wherein identifying the second structured data object further includes: identifying information according to an employee context interpreted from the first structured data object.

“40. The non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 39, wherein the information comprises a default amount specified according to the first transaction schedule, and wherein the second structured data object further comprises rules for converting the default amount to the amount.

“41. The non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 36, wherein identifying the second transaction schedule includes: identifying a second property of the second structured data object linked to the property of the first structured data object, wherein the property of the first structured data object and the second property of the second structured data object are linked responsive to an establishment of the second transaction schedule.”

For additional information on this patent application, see: Plotko, Dimitry; Schuster, Eric. Personalized Pay. U.S. Patent Application Number 20230334593, filed April 21, 2023 and posted October 19, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(20230334593)&db=US-PGPUB&type=ids

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)