The National Finance Center provides payroll and personnel services supporting more than 565,000 Federal employees. NFC disburses more than $50 billion annually. It also maintains records of federal health benefits and retirement accounts for more than 3 million federal employees.
On August 27, in response to the approaching hurricane, NFC relocated employees to six other worksites and shutdown the facility. Within three days, the NFC staff successfully executed its disaster recovery and its plans to continue providing services for its customers.
The NFC has now reopened in the New Orleans area. This is the first time some of the employees have seen each other since the facility was evacuated on August 27th.
Despite the relocation, NFC completed the next payroll process, setting records for the number of employees paid in a single pay period (more than 565,000) and the amount of funds disbursed (more than $2.7 billion). "The incredible accomplishments of the NFC staff were made in spite of one of the largest and most devastating natural disasters to ever affect the United States," said USDA’s Acting Chief Financial Officer Patricia Healy.
"The loss of the use of our facilities and equipment, a quick evacuation of employees, seriously degraded telecommunications and transportation infrastructures, limited availability to gasoline, and widespread power outages all contributed to the crisis situation. It was amazing to observe how our employees diverted from their personal concerns to focus on the mission, keeping the customer’s interest foremost in their mind."
