Matt Canady receives Executive’s People Leader Award
Each year, Executive Constantine holds the Performance Excellence Awards, which honor employees and workgroups at King County for their exceptional contributions to performance, leadership, and innovation. These leaders embody the Executive Branch values and strive to reach our True North: Making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive.
The People Leader Award honors a leader below the department or division leadership level who directly manages staff and encourages and empowers their team to push for outcomes that make King County a better place for our employees and the people we serve.
The 2020 recipient of the People Leader Award is Matt Canady, a Transit Chief, with King County Metro Transit Facilities.
Matt leads Metro Transit’s Custodial Services team for Central Facilities, and his staff has worked tirelessly during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep transit facilities clean and safe for all employees. Matt worked with his team to develop a schedule that increased custodial presence without increasing cost.
“Matt is a people leader who truly embraces our values and applies them to his work and relationships with his team,” said April Putney, Chief of Staff for Executive Constantine. “He leads Transit’s custodial services team, and his team plays a crucial role for our transit staff – a role that became even more critical during our response to the COVID-19 pandemic and our efforts to keep our employees as safe as we possibly can.”
Watch the video to view the award presentation and learn how Matt stays connected to his team, engages them in decisions that affect them, and collaborates with them to solve problems.
Executive’s Performance Excellence Awards series
The Leadership Excellence Awards are part of the Executive’s Performance Excellence Awards series, honoring employees and workgroups at King County for their exceptional contributions to performance, leadership, and innovation.
“As we build a best-run government at King County, these awards recognize individuals and teams who have gone above and beyond to look at how they can do things differently to better serve our customers and employees,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine.
Learn more about the King County Performance Excellence Awards.
Share this:
Indigenous Peoples’ Day to be an observed holiday beginning in 2022
Starting in 2022, King County government will observe two new paid holidays, Juneteenth and Indigenous Peoples’ Day, subject to available funding resources, bargaining, and potential impacts to existing county services.
The King County Council passed two Ordinances last year to establish Juneteenth (June 19) and Indigenous Peoples’ Day as paid holidays for King County employees who are eligible for leave benefits starting in 2022. (These new holiday observances are subject to available funding resources, bargaining, and potential impacts to existing County services.)
Based on engagement with Indigenous people who are King County employees and others in the Native community, King County will observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day on the second Monday in October, starting in 2022.
These new holidays represent just a part of our work to build a more racially just King County by honoring and strengthening our understanding of our history. They will be dedicated as days of service and learning and provide an opportunity for us to deepen our knowledge about our nation’s true history, Black and Indigenous heritage and culture, and the many ongoing contributions of Black and Indigenous people in our region. They will also help us sharpen our focus and commitment to undo the institutionalized racist practices and policies that harm Black, Indigenous, and People of Color today.
Share this:
King County launches desk reservation system, embracing a hybrid Future of Work
In just a few clicks, King County’s new Indoor Viewer desk reservation system lets employees book cubicle space in the Chinook Building or King Street Center.
Indoor Viewer launches this week. The software uses cutting-edge indoor mapping technology but is surprisingly easy to use; simply select the date and choose an available desk, then watch the booking magically appear in your Outlook calendar. This major milestone in the county’s Future of Work implementation gives agencies the flexibility to embrace hybrid work schedules and cost-saving space consolidations.
Your agency will notify you when they are ready to activate the desk reservation tool for your team, pending further return-to-work guidance from the Executive and your agency’s Future of Work plan. Until then, enjoy this sneak peek video!
Share this:
COVID Leave criteria, forms, and time codes
King County employees who are represented by a union that has signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) or are non-represented can now request up to 80 hours of COVID Leave to use for COVID-19 reasons as listed in the MOA.
COVID Leave is a new benefit that applies to all participating unions, as well as non-represented employees with the following exceptions:
- Puget Sound Police Managers Association (PSPMA)
- King County Police Officers Guild (KCPOG)
- District Court
- Superior Court
- King County Council
- Prosecuting Attorney’s Office
Eligible employees may use COVID Leave in the following situations:
- Up to the total amount of 80 hours for an employee’s positive COVID-19 test.
- Up to 40 of the 80 hours to care for an immediate family member who tested for COVID-19 or to stay home with a child whose school or childcare center was closed due to an outbreak and the employee cannot telecommute.
- Up to one regularly scheduled (out of the 80 total hours) shift to recover from a vaccine side effect. The side effect day off must be within 48 hours of receiving the vaccine, and the employee cannot work.
- Note: There are only 80 total hours available under this program. Employees that do not have a qualifying reason cannot use these hours.
New time reporting codes are now available in PeopleSoft, but employees may request COVID Leave back to Aug 10, 2021: TRC634 – Covid Paid Leave Taken, TRC634AM – Covid Paid Leave Taken AM Hrs.
Employees can apply for COVID Leave by completing the COVID Leave Request Form and providing it with appropriate documentation to their agency Human Resources professional.
All forms and information are available at Accessing leave during COVID-19 – King County.
Please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions or contact your department’s Human Resources Manager for more information.
Share this:
Disability Awareness Month 2021 events
King County is celebrating the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Disability Awareness Month in October. This year we have some exciting events planned covering a wide range of topics, from accessibility to insights from employees with disabilities:
Universal Design for Meetings, Events and Trainings
Wednesday, Oct. 6, from noon to 1 p.m. Register here.
The term reasonable modification is something we hear frequently when we talk about providing access to people with disabilities during out meetings, trainings and events. What if we flipped that concept on its head? What if, instead of modifying programming that is designed for the non-disabled so that it works for people with disabilities, we built our programming from the ground up so that all minds and bodies felt valued, seen and heard without the need for significant modification? Blayne Amson, City of Bellevue Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VI Program Administrator, will discuss his work applying the principles of Universal Design to meetings, trainings, and events. Blayne is a powerchair user, holds a Masters in Disability Studies, and has over 15 years of experience helping the non-disabled adopt an anti-ableist lens in the work they do. ASL interpretation and auto transcription services will be provided.
ADA 101: Employment and Public Service
Wednesday, Oct. 13, from noon to 1 p.m. Register here.
Northwest ADA Center (NWADAC) will lead a free, live 60-min webinar presentation entitled ADA 101: Employment and Public Service. The training will consist of a PowerPoint-guided presentation, and live Q&A. The training content includes: History & Purpose of the ADA; An Overview of the five ADA Titles; Title I: Employment (Reasonable Accommodations); Title II: State and Local Government (Program Access/Reasonable Modifications); Q&A. All King County employees and community associates are welcome to attend. ASL interpretation and auto transcription services will be provided.
Considering Accessibility on Capital Improvement Projects
Wednesday, Oct. 20, from noon to 1 p.m. Register here.
King County carries out major capital projects to build roads, stormwater and wastewater utilities, transportation facilities, and more. How can we consider accessibility in our projects to support project teams and our communities? Hear some ideas from King County’s Wastewater Treatment Division, and share some of your own. ASL interpretation and auto transcription services will be provided.
Employee Disability Panel: So I disclosed my disability, what’s next?
Thursday, Oct. 28, from noon to 1 p.m. Register here.
In honor of Disability Awareness Month, King County employees are invited to join a free, live, virtual conversation that will feature employees with disabilities who will share their personal experiences of disability disclosure, perspective from a supervisor’s understanding, alongside a Disability Service representative who will share resources available to support employees with disabilities and the process of navigating accommodations. All King County employees are welcome to attend. ASL interpretation and auto transcription services will be provided.
Share this:
Cecelia Hayes recipient of Executive’s Individual Contributor Award
The Leadership Excellence Awards, part of Executive Constantine’s Performance Excellence Awards, honor King County leaders who embody our Executive Branch values and who strive to reach our True North: Making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. The Individual Contributor Award honors an employee who does not directly manage staff, but who makes significant and tangible leadership contributions.
The 2020 honoree for the Individual Contributor Award is Cecelia Hayes, a Senior Practitioner in Equity, Social Justice and Engagement for the Department of Executive Services.
Cecelia is committed to moving King County forward in its racially just, pro-equity work. Last year, she spearheaded a series of employee town halls that focused on “Race, Racism, and Change,” and she developed a tool to measure organizational progress in adopting behaviors that promote equity and social justice.
“She solves problems,” said Gary Kurihara, Chief Performance Officer. “Recognizing that ESJ is difficult for many staff to talk about, Cecelia treats this an opportunity to innovate and has developed a variety of programs designed to start the conversation about equity.”
Watch the video to see the award presentation and learn how Cecelia is helping cultivate a workforce that can speak openly about race and confront racist situations when they occur.
Executive’s Performance Excellence Awards series
The Leadership Excellence Awards are part of the Executive’s Performance Excellence Awards series, honoring employees and workgroups at King County for their exceptional contributions to performance, leadership, and innovation.
“As we build a best-run government at King County, these awards recognize individuals and teams who have gone above and beyond to look at how they can do things differently to better serve our customers and employees,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine.
Learn more about the King County Performance Excellence Awards.
Share this:
Four worksite clinics this week for COVID-19 vaccine
All King County Executive branch employees are required to be fully vaccinated under Executive Constantine’s COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement – Executive Order and submit proof of vaccination for verification.
King County is hosting four COVID-19 worksite vaccination clinics this week open to all employees and their families. All three vaccines are available by appointment, and walk-ins are welcome:
- Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021 from 1-4 p.m., Cedar Hills Regional Landfill, 16645 228th Ave SE in Maple Valley. Register here.
- Thursday, Sept 30, 2021 from 6-9 a.m., Regional Communications and Emergency Coordination Center, 3511 NE 2nd St. in Renton. Register here.
- Thursday, Sept 30, 2021 from 1-4 p.m., Roads Division Renton Maintenance Facility, behind building “A” at 155 Monroe Ave NE in Renton. Register here.
- Saturday, October 2, 2021 from 8:30-10:30 a.m., Metro’s Safety and Training building at 11911 E Marginal Way S. in Tukwila. Register with Discovery Health by your preferred vaccine type:: Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J.
If you’ve had a first dose of Pfizer or Moderna, you can find many opportunities to get your second dose at local pharmacies, clinics, and community events. The one-dose Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine is also available. Go to www.kingcounty.gov/vaccine or the State of Washington Vaccine Locator for information about where to get vaccinated and what vaccines are offered.
Please note that if you received a first dose of Pfizer or Moderna at a County-sponsored worksite vaccination clinic in the latter part of September, you’ll need to get your second dose in the community, such as at a pharmacy, clinic, or community event.
King County and the Coalition of Unions, Technical Employees Association, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 77 the King County Corrections Guild, and the King County Juvenile Detention Guild, recently reached an agreement over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate that affects all King County employees in the Executive Branch.
You can read all the details in the Agreement here. If you haven’t already been vaccinated, you can find out where to get your vaccine and find answers to your questions at www.kingcounty.gov/vaccine. If you haven’t had your vaccination status verified, find out how here. If you have any questions, please contact your department’s HR Manager (SharePoint link).
Share this:
Verify your vaccination status as soon as possible
If you haven’t yet submitted your proof of vaccination for verification, make sure you do so as soon as you receive your final vaccination. In order to be fully vaccinated by the deadline, you must receive your second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or your only dose of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine by Monday, Oct. 4. Please report your vaccination status immediately after receiving your final dose to avoid receiving notices of the job separation process.
There are a couple of ways to provide proof of vaccination:
- Initiating the COVID-19 Vaccination Declaration process through your NEOGOV Dashboard (click on Dashboard > Forms > COVID-19 Vaccination Declaration) and attaching a copy of an official document (see list below), OR
- Showing one of the following to an HR professional or other designated department representative:
- your actual vaccination card, or a photo or a copy of it,
- a copy of your state vaccine record, or
- a verified medical record.
If you’ve lost or destroyed your vaccine card, you can find out how to replace it here.
Please note, employees will need to get both doses of a two-shot vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna), or a single dose of Johnson & Johnson/Janssen before completing the vaccine verification. Employees can receive their vaccine at several pop-up vaccine clinics hosted by King County, or go to www.kingcounty.gov/vaccine to find a pharmacy, clinic, or community vaccination event nearby. After completing a vaccination series at a King County-sponsored worksite clinic, employees still need to submit verification.
Departments will not keep copies of vaccination cards, state vaccine records, or vaccine medical records; however, they will document that the employee has been vaccinated, which vaccination was received (Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson), and the last date of the vaccination.
If you have any questions, please contact your department’s HR Manager.
Share this:
Don’t wait to get vaccination verified
The Oct. 18 deadline for getting your vaccination status verified is approaching fast, so make sure you’ve submitted your proof of vaccination before the deadline.
There are a couple of ways to provide proof of vaccination:
- Initiating the COVID-19 Vaccination Declaration process through your NEOGOV Dashboard (click on Dashboard > Forms > COVID-19 Vaccination Declaration) and attaching a copy of an official document (see list below), OR
- Showing one of the following to an HR professional or other designated department representative:
- your actual vaccination card, or a photo or a copy of it,
- a copy of your state vaccine record, or
- a verified medical record.
Please note, employees will need to get both doses of a 2-shot vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna), or a single dose of Johnson & Johnson before completing the vaccine verification. Employees can receive their vaccine at several pop-up vaccine clinics hosted by King County, or go to www.kingcounty.gov/vaccine to find a pharmacy, clinic, or community vaccination event nearby. After completing a vaccination series at a King County-sponsored worksite clinic, employees still need to submit verification.
Departments will not keep copies of vaccination cards, state vaccine records, or vaccine medical records; however, they will document that the employee has been vaccinated, which vaccination was received (Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson), and the last date of the vaccination.
If you have any questions, please contact your department’s HR Manager.
Share this:
Innovation Award for Sustainability
The King County Innovation Awards – part of the Executive’s Performance Excellence Awards – seek to honor employees and teams whose projects, improvements, and ingenuity deliver exceptional, measurable results. These honorees have considered challenges within their delivery of services to King County residents, and developed solutions that address an important need. They also met each challenge in a creative and forward-thinking manner that reflects our True North values.
The Innovation Award for Sustainability went to the Biogas Optimization Team at the South Wastewater Treatment Plant. The team strategically allocated limited resources to increase the life and capacity of a system that produces biogas.
Biogas is a waste byproduct of wastewater treatment, and the South Plant has been converting biogas to renewable natural gas and injecting it into the local natural gas pipeline for more than 30 years. Renewable natural gas is less expensive and less polluting than fossil-fuel natural gas.
The South Plant converts biogas to renewable natural gas through a process called scrubbing. The plant’s biogas scrubbing system is aging, and parts of it needed urgent repairs. According to Rachel Brombaugh, Director of Climate and Energy Initiatives, “It is the longest-operating system for converting wastewater biogas to pipeline-quality renewable natural gas in the country.” The County looked at replacing the system but found it would cost tens of millions of dollars.
With the support of the Wastewater Treatment Division capital team, staff at the South Plant identified cost-effective improvements that focused on repairing the scrubbing tower and re-building gas-compression equipment. “These improvements were made at a fraction of the cost of a new scrubbing system, and they increased gas production and revenues,” Brombaugh stated.
Due to pandemic restrictions, awards this year were presented virtually. Watch this video to see the award presentation and learn how South Plant and associated staff found cost-effective ways to repair an aging scrubbing system.
Executive’s Performance Excellence Awards series
The Innovation Awards are part of the Executive’s Performance Excellence Awards series, honoring employees and workgroups at King County for their exceptional contributions to performance, leadership, and innovation.
“As we build a best-run government at King County, these awards recognize individuals and teams who have gone above and beyond to look at how they can do things differently to better serve our customers and employees,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine.
Learn more about the King County Performance Excellence Awards.
Employee News 