Mask requirements remain in force for King County employees
On May 13, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities – large or small – without wearing a mask. Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced full alignment with the CDC masking guidance, and provided for businesses to retain the right to require customers and employees to wear masks.
At King County, our existing mask mandate for employees remains in force while we review and update our policy guidance.
Under our Temporary COVID-19 Personnel Policy, “Employees must wear a mask when they cannot maintain a distance of six feet from others, and are strongly encouraged to wear a mask when whenever possible indoors.” This temporary policy applies to all Executive Branch employees. Employees in other branches of County government will receive guidance from their leaders.
Many of our fully vaccinated employees will continue to be required to wear masks under the CDC’s new guidance due to the nature of their work. This includes employees in correctional facilities, homeless shelters, schools, public transportation, long-term care, and healthcare settings. Prevention measures are still recommended for unvaccinated people.
We will provide further updates once they are available. Thank you.
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King County Security Tips – Is That Email Really from HR?
One of the easiest ways the bad guys trick you into falling victim to their fraudulent scams is to exercise a sense of trust by pretending to be someone you know. More than likely, you receive emails from your Human Resources team on a frequent basis. Scammers take advantage of this constant communication by crafting spear phishing attacks using emails that spoof your HR team.
Spear phishing attacks are email scams that typically target an individual or organization by spoofing, or appearing to come from a trusted sender. Don’t blindly trust emails that seem to come from your HR department. See the tips below to learn more about these types of scams.
How Do I Spot a Fake?
Does this sound like typical communication?
- Pay attention to the context in the body of the email.
Look for spelling errors, grammar errors, and odd sentence structure. - Are you being asked to review unfamiliar policies or procedures?
If you’re being asked to download an attachment or click a link to review a policy you’ve never heard of, think twice before you click. - Are you being asked to do something that wouldn’t typically be addressed via email?
Beware of emails containing an attachment for your “paid bonus” or any other matter that seems out of the ordinary for email communication.
Who sent the email?
- Does the sender’s email address appear to be from an unfamiliar domain or a third-party company?
If the domain of the sender’s email address is generic, for instance, “humanresources.com”, the email may not be from your internal HR department. Ensure the email is from an address that your HR team typically uses to send mail. But remember, even if the domain is from your organization, it could be spoofed. - Does the email signature make sense?
Ensure the signature in the body of the email matches the name and job role of the sender. Some HR phishing scam emails have unusual, or inaccurate job titles in the email signature–or have no signature at all.
When in doubt, always pick up the phone and call someone from your HR team to confirm the email is safe and legitimate. They’ll be thankful you used your resources, rather than putting King County at risk.
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Metro working with Public Health to get the word out to employees about vaccines
While COVID-19 vaccine availability has been steadily increasing in the region, the number of people getting vaccinated has begun to level off. Recently, Metro hosted a King County employee vaccine clinic at Metro’s South Training Center where Virginia Mason Franciscan Health vaccinated 575 King County employees. During the preparation for that clinic, Metro realized that some of their mission-critical workers are hesitant to get the vaccine.
There are still many people in King County who have either decided not to get vaccinated or are still undecided. It’s normal to have questions or concerns about the three vaccines, and it can be difficult to wade through the mass amount of information (and misinformation) coming through on social media, the news, and from friends and family. In addition, a significant number of Metro operators, facility workers, and other mission-critical onsite workers have limited access to email which can make sharing vaccine resources a challenge.
As part of the Metro Employee Vaccine team, Samantha Souffront, Metro’s Wellness Manager, partnered with Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC) to reach staff directly at their worksites to combat misinformation and provide support for employees as they make this important healthcare decision for themselves and their families.
“Metro employee volunteers attended a PHSKC-led training to learn effective ways of addressing hesitancy and sharing factual information one-on-one with their peers,” Samantha said. Beginning May 10, the volunteers began staffing onsite information tables at multiple Metro locations through the month of May, working various shifts, in an “effort to provide vaccine education and answer questions.”
Becky Reitzes, an Educator Consultant II with PHSKC, developed the training for Metro. She has been involved with designing and implementing trainings for a variety of community organizations during the pandemic, providing her extensive experience and knowledge to help them in their efforts to educate the community.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has been an anxious and troubling time for so many people and families in our communities,” Becky explains. “On top of that, there is misinformation out there about the vaccines, and sometimes a distrust in government and medical institutions.”
The goal of this training is to provide volunteers the tools to share accurate information with their Metro peers so they can make informed decisions about the vaccine. This in-person effort also gives our staff the chance to show their co-workers they appreciate and care about the work they do and the essential service they provide to our region.
“The safety and well-being of our employees is always a top priority at Metro,” said Terry White, Metro’s General Manager. “I am very pleased with the outcome of the County’s onsite vaccine clinic, and we will continue to support our employees and their families in making informed decisions and helping them get the vaccine if they choose to do so. I appreciate Public Health’s partnership and the ongoing efforts of our staff and volunteers.”
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Executive Constantine proclaims May as Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders Month
King County Executive Dow Constantine has issued a Proclamation recognizing May as Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders month.
“We honor the invaluable contributions and leadership of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders across King County, whose communities are diverse and distinct in culture, ethnicity, history, language, nationality, racial
identity, religion, and a variety of complex identities – which means there is no single story of the AANHPI experience, but many different stories that strengthen our society,” Executive Constantine said in his Proclamation. “I encourage residents to join in this recognition of the cultures, traditions, and histories of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in our County and nation.”
Read the full proclamation below.
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Mandatory telework to end July 5, 2021
by Dow Constantine, King County Executive
King County Executive
It has been more than a year since I instituted mandatory telework – for those King County employees whose work allowed for it – to slow the spread of COVID-19. I made this decision based on Public Health guidance for how we can make our workplaces as safe as possible for front-line employees and customers while continuing to provide essential in-person service. Your health and safety, and the health and safety of those we serve, continue to guide my decision making.
Vaccines are clearly our best path to ending to this pandemic, and our vaccination program has been very successful. In King County, almost 70% people 16 or older have now had at least their first shot, and nearly 50% are fully vaccinated. This is a tremendous achievement, and a testament to the efforts of our public health professionals, community partners, and volunteers who are working tirelessly to vaccinate every eligible person in our region.
However, we are still in a pandemic, and the number of COVID-19 cases remains too high. At King County we remain under mandatory telecommuting through July 5 for all Executive Branch employees who are currently telecommuting, except where there is an operational need to physically return to the workplace.
While there is still some uncertainty ahead of us, we are planning for the post-pandemic future. After consulting with Public Health experts and other County leaders, I have decided not to extend mandatory telework for Executive Branch employees beyond July 5, 2021. This is the first step in the gradual transition to our post-pandemic Future of Work model for delivering services. Leaders at the King County Sheriff’s Office and Department of Assessments are also ending mandatory telecommuting for their employees on July 5, where applicable. King County Elections and the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will continue with mandatory telework where applicable beyond July 5 and will provide additional guidance to their employees. Employees in King County Council, Superior Court, and District Court should continue to follow the guidance from their leaders.
Ending the mandatory telework phase of our work does not mean everyone will come back to their worksites on July 6. In fact, most employees who are currently teleworking will continue to work remotely at least part of their workweek during this transition phase.
I recently approved the Future of Work plans submitted by departments for how King County will deliver services after the COVID-19 pandemic. Departments will now begin implementing these plans in accordance with public health guidance. Depending on where you work in our organization, you may continue to provide services in-person, perform all of your work remotely, or observe a hybrid model of both in-person and remote work.
Your department and division leaders will soon begin communicating timelines and expectations with you as we approach July 6. Worksites will only be re-activated when it is safe to do so, facilities and equipment are ready, and the need from our customers is there. We will not take unnecessary risks with health and safety.
We are continuing with plans for the closure of the Administration Building and associated moves to King Street Center and other locations. The Facilities Management Division in the Department of Executive Services is working with affected departments and those employees will receive specific information from their department leaders.
Finally, if you haven’t already had or scheduled a vaccination, I encourage you to book an appointment today, or simply walk in to one of the many clinics now offering vaccines without an appointment. We strongly encourage all employees to get vaccinated in order to protect yourself, your family, and our customers. Go to vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov to search for COVID-19 vaccine appointments near you by zip code. We have also built an employee vaccines webpage where you can learn how to schedule a vaccine, information about your benefits, and much more. The latest vaccine information from Public Health is available at kingcounty.gov/vaccine.
If you have any questions, please email them to kcemployees@kingcounty.gov and will work to provide answers and compile answers to frequently asked questions.
Please take care of yourself and continue to take measures to keep you, your family, and our community as safe as possible.
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Talent Acquisition steps up to the challenge
Finding the right job candidates during COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown many challenges at King County departments as they work to protect employees and customers from the virus while ensuring their services remain easily accessible. Continuing to recruit talented staff to fill the wide array of positions at the County, while maintaining social distancing is one of those challenges.
Alongside the Talent Acquisition team within the Department of Human Resources (DHR), many departments at King County have their own recruiting teams. As you might expect, initial outreach to candidates is typically done by phone and email. The process of interviews by hiring managers and others has been historically in-person for the most part. When mandatory telework was announced in March 2020, it was all hands-on deck for recruiters in the various departments across King County to manage a major shift in bringing on new talent.
“Interviewers needed to ramp up quickly to get comfortable with the technology and logistics that would now dictate the online interviews they would be conducting,” stressed Jamie Robinson, Sr. Analyst in DHR who leads the process and strategy for King County Talent Acquisition.
Jamie and her colleagues are involved in the development and distribution of recruiting tools and training for King County departments, flexing to provide guidance and support for those who converted to virtual recruiting.
Technology would be the answer and, fortunately, the NEOGOV recruiting system was already in place. Recruiters were accustomed to using it as a tool to house candidate resumes, interview schedules, and track recruitment steps. But there would need to be some training to get Human Resource practitioners, subject matter experts, interviewers, and hiring managers accustomed to the additional functions that could be used to streamline and digitize a formerly paper-heavy process.
The big lift came when the team needed to convert the New Employee Orientation — normally held in person — to completely online. This would take a concerted effort working with several teams in DHR. The NEOGOV system was equipped for onboarding and the team quickly got to work building out the processes, tools, and training to launch it in just a few days.
Some teams that were just getting started using Skype, MS Teams, and Zoom for internal meetings were finding it difficult to transition to online interviews, so the DHR team stepped in to offer assistance in a variety of spaces and provide training in using the Zoom technology for virtual interviews. Jamie stated, “No detail was too small. Things one might not think of, such as making sure the interviewer is in a quiet space or how to create a background that isn’t distracting, became part of the guidance toolkit.”
Not all recruiting steps went virtual
Just as there are many jobs in King County that cannot be performed virtually, some recruiting continues to call for in-person activities. For the Civil Service team, creating a pool of candidates for deputy sheriff openings requires some of the most intense testing and interview processes of any job in the County. One of the initial hiring elements for a deputy position is a physical test, for which there was already a national vendor in place to handle. Now that Civil Service can manage more of the initial rounds of interviewing virtually, they have a broader pool of out-of-area candidates to choose from.
Initial challenges of going virtual for this team included figuring out the logistics on how to provide interview panelists the resources they need. MS Teams was used to create a closed, confidential location for interview materials, and the team converted to using Zoom for interviews. By April last year they were able to shift most work to remote processes, but some required a hybrid approach.
Last summer the team conducted a sergeant’s promotional exam in a gymnasium to accommodate a proctored test for 100 people, on the same day, with enough space for the candidates to socially distance. Those who passed had to come in for an in-person assessment, a set of practical examinations that lasts approximately six hours per candidate.
“I was impressed with how quickly the team adapted, and feedback from candidates has been positive,” said Brannon Mark, Interim Civil Service Administrator. Though she admits the team still deals with “virtual fatigue” from being online so much, since they’re doing eight to 11 interview days per month because the process takes longer and there’s less flexibility in scheduling.
Working with the job candidate
The Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP) has been successful in transitioning its processes to a virtual experience. One of its main efforts is to ensure the interview process is fair to all, so if a candidate doesn’t have sufficient online access, they might come into the office to use a computer while the interview panel remains virtual.
Another positive element of working virtually is being able to run everything using the NEOGOV platform from scheduling and confirmations through onboarding and training.
“It really drives efficiencies for us, especially since everyone’s calendars seem to be so full,” states Diana Eberly, Sr. Analyst in DNRP. “The next step we hope to implement is a follow-up survey to measure satisfaction from everyone – candidates, hiring managers, SMS’s and interview panelists. That will help assess how successful we’ve been.”
Find out more about King County careers and open job opportunities at kingcounty.gov/careers.
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Accommodations for mental health
As we recognize May as Mental Health Awareness Month, it is important to remember King County’s commitment to supporting employees with mental health conditions in the workplace.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), about one in five American adults, or roughly 43.8 million adults, experience mental illness in a given year. Approximately 39% of employees in the U.S. workforce have a mental health condition. And more than 50% of individuals with mental illness still avoid needed treatment. Untreated mental illness can result in other illnesses and behaviors, such as chronic pain and substance abuse, leading to further challenges for individuals experiencing mental illness and higher costs for employers and society as a whole. Regardless of culture, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or sexual orientation, mental illness affects everyone, whether through our own experiences or the experiences of individuals we know.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an enormous impact on individuals. According to a CDC survey, almost 41% of respondents are struggling with mental health conditions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures put in place to contain it, including physical distancing and stay-at-home orders. Mental health risks of social distancing, isolation and quarantine have led to, among other things, increased fear, anxiety, loneliness, sadness, anger, frustration, irritability and stigma. Those particularly more vulnerable include older adults, individuals with pre-existing mental health conditions and healthcare workers.
For many people, employment is an essential part of our identity, well-being and health. It provides a sense of purpose and allows us to build connections. Fostering a work culture that promotes self-care and focuses on mental health as an important part of overall health and well-being is critical to building inclusion and providing support to employees. A key part of this focus is to provide employees who experience limitations or restrictions associated with a mental health condition with reasonable accommodations in the workplace to be able to perform their job duties productively and effectively.
Yet employees with mental health conditions continue face barriers when requesting reasonable accommodations in the workplace. Those barriers include:
- An employee is not willing to come forward with their conditions due to denial, shame and stigma
- The lack of supervisor knowledge to recognize and/or understand the impacts of mental health
- Difficulty knowing how permanent or temporary the symptoms are
- Discrimination or judgement against people with mental health conditions
- Lack of HR knowledge about how to accommodate employees with mental health conditions
- Treatment providers not documenting the health condition accurately, resulting in inadequate treatment and/or accommodations
Providing reasonable accommodations
King County is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to all its employees and applicants for employment to ensure that individuals with disabilities, including mental health conditions, enjoy equal access to all employment opportunities. It is important to note that while some individuals with mental health conditions may experience limitations that impact their ability to work or perform certain job functions, the degree to which they are impacted will vary. Some individuals with mental health conditions may not need accommodations to help them perform their job duties.
Examples of reasonable accommodations that may be provided to employees with mental health conditions include the following:
- An employee with depression may benefit from noise cancelling headsets to help with concentration and focus.
- An employee coping with an anxiety disorder may need to have flexible and/or additional breaks built into the workday to step away when feeling overwhelmed.
- An employee with PTSD who experiences sleep problems due to their condition may need a flexible work schedule or later start time to help them cope with morning fatigue.
These are just a few of the many examples of reasonable workplace accommodations King County have provided to employees with mental health conditions to stay at work or return to work. For additional ideas or suggestions for accommodations to assist individuals with mental health conditions, please visit the Job Accommodation Network at Mental Health Conditions (askjan.org). In addition, providing such accommodations lead to greater employee loyalty, increased employee retention, better employee morale, more positive employee relationships and higher productivity and lower costs. Providing reasonable accommodations to employees with mental health conditions, contributes to our goal of building an inclusive workplace for all.
This is one of the many ways we can support employees experiencing mental health conditions at King County. If you need assistance with accommodation in the workplace, talk to your Human Resources representative, supervisor, or Disability Services staff at 206-263-9329 or DisabilityServices@kingcounty.gov.
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Language Access Team provides information in multiple languages to support community needs
This year saw the first time that the King County Employee Survey was translated into multiple languages – six to be exact – and the feedback about this offering has been overwhelmingly positive. The translations are primarily an outcome of a busy, dedicated team that until a little over a year ago, did not even exist at King County.
The COVID-19 Language Access Team has been receiving kudos and recognition within the enterprise as well as the community for their success in putting information into the languages that our diverse community needs. The team grew out of an urgent call to action last year to provide up-to-date, concise, and relevant information to the various people in the area that do not speak or read English as a first language. King County is known to have one of the most prolific collections of languages spoken in the country and the pandemic amplified a need that had already been identified.
In fact, Senayet Negusse had been recently hired for purpose of providing leadership for the county and operationalizing and integrating language access for the County departments and agencies in the newly created position of Language Equity Program Manager in the Office of Executive’s Equity and Social Justice. However, she was quickly tasked with helping to build a team and process that could support COVID-19 communications.
There was a strong partnership already underway with the City of Seattle’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs. Peggy Liao, Negusse’s counterpart at the City of Seattle, had been assigned to work with King County Public Health to support the language access efforts. When Negusse joined in March, they worked closely together and began creating a system for King County. Negusse developed a COVID-19 language access guide and the team co-created processes for items such as translation requests, project tracking, and invoicing translators.
“The vendors we had in place for translation were taking 8-10 days to turn around work,” Negusse stated. In the early months of COVID, this was obviously not good enough. The team began building a base of “over 100 local translators, individuals committed to making sure our communities receive information quickly, while considering their cultural needs.”
Negusse explained that this team did not just manage the translation, but also helped to provide guidance on such things as how to reach audiences. It involved connecting to people in numerous ways, like the distribution to ethnic media and by harnessing the power of targeted social media as a strategy.
It started with a call for volunteers
When the message went out that there was a need, a team of volunteers began to come together in February last year for the enormous task of reaching out across a county that is as varied in cultures as it is in landscape and structure. One of the first to join up was Francesca Collins, who was working as an Education Consultant in the HIV/STD program at the time. She was recruited by the team to work with Liao, having previously collaborated with the Communications team on health education campaigns. With the support of her manager, she offered her community health expertise to do whatever was needed.
“It was bananas last year,” Collins laughed, bringing a little levity in retrospect to a serious issue. “Health and Medical Area Command (HMAC) was overwhelmed with emails, people just wanting answers to every question you can think of.” According to Collins, HMAC was serving as a hub for COVID-19 updates, tracking cases, providing reports, talking with the public, strategizing testing and response, and COVID-19 communications, “on top of managing many other COVID-related things.”
When Liao returned to her duties at the City of Seattle, “It was just Francesca and me, until Amanda came on,” Negusse said. “We all worked together and brought on more coordinator staff.”
Amanda Kay came from Communities of Opportunity in response to the call for volunteers to join the team. What started as a four-week rotation helping to operationalize the work, kept getting extended. It has since turned into a Special Duty Program Manager position. She’s also a leading evangelist for the Language Access Team.
“The team has flourished in the last year, there’s a lot of passion and encouragement,” says Kay proudly. “Our team has become a cohesive service for COVID-related materials.”
“It would be nice to see a service like this expanded in the future,” she continued, “but for now we are only funded to provide COVID-related translations and reviews through September.”
Another early team member to join was Angélica Esquivel, a contract Spanish translator and interpreter working for the City of Seattle, who was recruited last February to help with the heavy workload. She’s now a regular member of the Language Access Team, working as a Coordinator, and bringing a wealth of experience beyond just reviewing documents.
“There are multiple Spanish-speaking cultures here,” Angélica explains. “Taking into account the words and expressions requires research and review. You have to make sure the language is appropriate across cultures.” That includes elements such as other language bases or CDC resources, and even outreach for input from the translator community for direct feedback.
The work continues
Equity and accessibility are key components to the future of a thriving, successful King County. The gaps that had been identified highlighted the need for language access services to be implemented into the practices, policies, and procedures of King County. The goal is building trust and relationships with limited English proficient communities.
The arrival of COVID-19 accelerated the implementation of these programs, resulting in over 30 in-language website pages, plus videos and public service announcements in over 20 languages. The team’s accomplishments had other regional, national, and even global jurisdictions looking to King County as an example in how to reach out to culturally diverse constituents.
Now back in her regular role for the Executive’s Office of Equity and Social Justice, Negusse is tasked with leading policy development and operationalizing and integrating language access in collaboration with King County departments and agencies. In conjunction with her colleague Hamdi Mohamed, they have been creating a hub of materials and resources, including a training on KING COUNTY CODE 2.15 Immigrant, Refugees and Language Access Ordinance (KCC 2.15), which, in part, requires all departments to have a language access plan.
Negusse has also been working closely with KCIT to develop what will be known as the Community Engagement Translation Program. The Office of Equity and Social Justice and KCIT are preparing to launch the Community Engagement Translation Program (CETP). This program will provide funding for translation of select web content into the top six most spoken languages, and an enterprise translation management platform.
If you have COVID-related materials that need translation, or you would like to know more about the Language Access Team, please contact ESJLanguages@kingcounty.gov.
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Celebrating you during Public Service Recognition Week
from Dow Constantine, King County Executive
Over the past year-plus, as the nation and world responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of public servants has come into clearer focus. I want to take the opportunity this week during Public Service Recognition Week to thank you for your service.
When the pandemic struck, you stepped up to make sure that our community continued to receive the vital in-person services people count on. Our public health professionals, supported by employees and community partners across King County, provided guidance and care to help our residents protect themselves and their families from the virus. Now they are partnering again – to vaccinate our region at record rates. Other employees adjusted the way they delivered services – in-person and remotely – to ensure that people could access the support they needed while slowing the spread of COVID-19. However you have been helping to serve the people of King County during our COVID-19 response, please know that I am grateful for your efforts.
We are still in a precarious phase of this pandemic. Our vaccination program has been extremely successful, with two-thirds of King County adults already receiving their first dose, and nearly half fully vaccinated. Yet the virus continues to spread at concerning rates, and we must remain vigilant to slow its spread and end this pandemic.
This remains a challenging time, one with a lot of uncertainty, stress, and anxiety. I know we are all anxiously awaiting a return to our normal lives. An end to the pandemic is in sight and I know that by working together and supporting one another we will get there.
I am grateful for everything that you do for the people of King County. I have never been more proud to lead this County and to be your colleague in public service.
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Day Care FSA limits increased; enrollment and changes allowed in May
With the recent passage of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), you are now able to contribute up to $10,500—pre-tax—into your 2021 Day Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA).
For this year only, if you are currently enrolled, you can contribute up to $10,500 to your Day Care FSA, or $5,250 if married and filing separately. (Normally, per year, you can contribute up to $5,000 per household or $2,500 if married, filling separately.) This means you can save up to an additional $1,650 at tax time.
In addition, during May 2021, new enrollments in the Day Care FSA are allowed without a qualifying life event.
To increase your current Day Care FSA election or to newly enroll, use the FSA Change Form. New enrollments must be received by the Benefits team by May 31, 2021.
If you need help finding day care during the pandemic, your Day Care FSA offers Kinside, a free service that can help you find day cares and preschools nearby that are open and have availability. Day Care FSA participants receive 10% off day care services.
Reminder: The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, a COVID-19 relief bill, allows any unused funds from 2021 FSAs to be rolled over and available for use next year.
For additional information, go to the Flexible Spending Accounts page or contact the King County Benefits Team at KC Benefits or 206-684-1556.
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