For about 640,000 federal employees at agencies like the Homeland Security and Treasury departments, the paper pay stub will soon be a thing of the past. White House budget director Peter Orszag yesterday announced that the Agriculture Department’s National Finance Center is going to stop issuing paper pay stubs as part of an effort to save about $4 million in printing and mailing costs per year.
Until now, employees have had to opt out of receiving paper stubs, but only about 192,000 people chose to do so. Under the new plan, all employees will receive electronic pay statements by default unless they specifically ask for paper.
This idea was submitted by several people last year as part of the SAVE award program. NFC-covered agencies lag far behind the rest of the federal workforce, Orszag said — about 64 percent of the entire federal government currently receive electronic paystubs.
Other agencies whose payrolls are handled by NFC are the Justice, Commerce, Labor and Housing and Urban Development departments, the Peace Corps, the Government Accountability Office, and the Library of Congress.
EDIT: What do you think about this move? Sound like a good idea? Or will you choose to keep receiving paper pay statements instead? And if so, why? We’d like to hear from you. E-mail me at slosey@federaltimes.com.
