The firm also offered the “option to work remotely to support extended time of for parents with children home, for those jobs that allow,” she said.

GE Hitachi, GE Global Nuclear Fuel and GE Aviation -- which holds a combined campus in the Castle Hayne area -- also paid its employees during the storm because of the severe impact, said Jon Allen, spokesman for GE Hitachi.

Allen said the same resources were provided to all GE employees of the Wilmington facilities, about 3,000 people.

“We made the decision locally that hourly employees will be paid for scheduled days that the site had to be closed,” Allen said, adding that salaried employees were able to work remotely and were paid as normal.

Wilmington-headquartered Pharmaceutical Product Development took a number of measures to help its employees post-storm, including issuing paychecks early, as well as providing financial assistance for storm-related personal expenses and work-related expenses not reimbursed by insurance.

New Hanover Regional Medical Center (NHRMC) processed payroll early to help with expenses, said hospital spokesman Julian March. It also paid staff who were not able to come to work during or after the storm.

Background screening and compliance firm CastleBranch was also among the Wilmington-based companies that paid its hourly workers for a time before and after the storm, along with other measures after Hurricane Florence.

Teachers and other staff at both New Hanover County Schools (NHCS) and the University of North Carolina Wilmington, who were out before, during and after the storm, were also paid.

NHCS teachers, teacher assistants and others were allowed to return to schools Tuesday. School resumed for students Thursday. The faculty and staff at UNCW returned Monday, with classes beginning next week.

“Perhaps the most profound support NHCS provided was our commitment to paying our employees their full September check,” said Robin Meiers, NHCS's director of Human Resources, in an email.

New Hanover County Schools employs more than 4,200 people, officials said, adding that most have returned to work since classes went back into session this week.

“While many were evacuating, our payroll and finance folks worked diligently to ensure that our employees didn’t have to worry about losing money after Florence,” she wrote.

While the schools were closed, many NHCS employees staffed shelters and others volunteered during the storm's aftermath.

NHCS employees who worked at shelters during the storm received time-and-a-half pay per hour worked. "Exempt employees earned their normal rate for hours outside the regular workday. If they worked more than four hours outside the regular day, exempt employees received a $100 stipend," Meiers said.

Liz Grimes, UNCW's associate vice chancellor for human resources, said a state provision in a policy related to adverse weather ensured that permanent employees of the state, in this case the university system, were paid while UNCW closed because of the hurricane.

“Unfortunately, we were in these extreme conditions, but with that, the out-of-work compensation was covered by that [provision], so employees could continue to be paid during the time away,” Grimes said.

The university also had staff members who were there for the duration of the storm and others who came in to aid recovery efforts, Grimes said. Those workers were given overtime, depending on the employee type and their designation under the Fair Labor Standards Act, she said.

UNCW employees are also offered up to 80 hours of additional paid time off to attend to storm-related recovery at home if the storm caused severe damage to their primary residences. That came through the state office of human resources, which “was a wonderful resource for folks,” she said.

“You can imagine if your home's uninhabitable, you've got a lot of things to take care of and people to meet with, insurance adjusters, contractors, et cetera,” Grimes said. “And it's hard to be at work in and manage that part of your life. And stabilize your living situation.” 

Another common trend between the human resource activities of some of the area's large companies and institutions was the support to its employment base post-storm and campaigns to raise money for hurricane relief.

Corning Inc. -- which employs about 1,000 people in Wilmington -- provided a range of support for employees during the storm, said spokesman Joe Dunning.

After the hurricane, the company focused on providing basic needs to its employees, Dunning said.

"For those able to travel safely to work, we provided meals in our cafeteria at no cost, and we rented a tanker of gasoline and provided gas at no cost to our employees," he said.

The company also found short-term housing for its employees displaced from their homes for a significant amount of time because of flooding or structural damage, Dunning said. Employees also had the option to take a portion of their profit-sharing bonus early to help cover expenses. 

NHRMC established an employee resource center and an employee benevolent fund. It also provided free childcare during the storm, March said. 

Post-storm NHRMC aided with temporary shelter for employees whose homes were destroyed, he said. And all of its staff received a $100 gift card.

GE Hitachi and GE Aviation distributed two truckloads of relief items provided by GE, such as bottled water, batteries, toiletries, baby supplies and cleaning products, said Allen.

"We continue to support employees with emergency financial aid, mental health services and insurance advice," Allen said.

Mental, legal and financial counselings were also offered by Corning and other businesses and organizations.

"We brought in licensed professionals counselors, who specialize in helping people deal with loss, onsite to make them easily available," said Dunning. Corning also provided, "no-cost legal consultation for Corning employees impacted by Hurricane Florence for storm-related insurance topics," he said.

NHRMC established a critical incident stress management team available to help staff, as well as an employee assistance program, March said.

To further aid its workforce, both UNCW and Corning Inc. have started fundraising campaigns to support those affected by the hurricane. The Corning GoFundMe page allows employees and others to make contributions to benefit its work base, Dunning said. 

The Hurricane Florence Employee Assistance Fund has started at UNCW. It's a university-led pool of funds for UNCW employees and anyone outside the university to donate funds that will directly benefit those that work at UNCW who were badly affected by the storm, Grimes said. 

Alcami has established a fund to support employees in "times of devastating or substantial loss, such as Hurricane Florence," Hanely said.

"The fund is open to all employees and all of our global site locations. Initial contributions will be used to support employees affected by the hurricane and the fund will continue to grow so it can be used for emergencies such as natural disasters and catastrophic circumstances," she said.

Teams of GE's workforce are volunteering to help coworkers whose homes were damaged, Allen said. 

"Those employees who have been impacted most significantly have been assigned an employee champion to help ensure their immediate needs are met," Allen said. "Employees are also actively volunteering in the community to help relief and local organizations support those in need."

Those at NHCS worked to pick up and deliver meals to families of teachers and students in need, as well as take over cleaning supplies and basic essentials. They also aided cleanup efforts.

"So many families were devastated, and our employees rose to the challenge of helping their school communities," Meiers said.

UNCW teachers, faculty and staff were also offered 16 hours of community service leave to volunteer for disaster recovery efforts in the community, Grimes said. That's again through the state office of human resources, she said.

“It’s nice because I know a lot of people who feel fortunate in their experience with the storm and the outcome for them and their family," Grimes said. "They want to volunteer and help others."