Tech Tip: Zombie records can come back to haunt you (and the county!) BEWARE!
Brought to you by the King County Public Records Committee and the Records Management Program
Records retained past their mandatory retention period could put you and the county at financial risk – not to mention risk of embarrassment.
Just like zombies, records can do the most harm after they have reached the end of their life. Undead records lurk in basements, closets, on old floppy disks, and forgotten places on network drives – buried and lost amongst the clutter. But, they will come back to haunt you in the event of a public records request or litigation action.
How to kill a hoard of zombie records in three easy steps
- Make sure they’re zombies Just because the records are on the older side and are no longer needed to support day-to-day business doesn’t necessarily mean they’re zombies. For records to be a true zombies they must be past their retention period. This is different from archival records or records required to support current or imminent litigation actions or current public records requests.
- Acquire weapons needed to defend yourself Before you kill zombie records, make certain you can defend yourself from attack. Documenting destruction of government records promotes both transparency and accountability. In the event of a legal or audit challenge, this documentation provides crucial evidence of “defensible disposition” demonstrating that you were aware of and compliant with current records retention requirements.
- Kill them…. Kill them dead To truly kill zombie records you need to make them unreadable and irretrievable. The King County Records Center offers free secure physical records shredding at their facility through the direct destruction program. To ensure complete destruction of a digital records, seek out and delete all copies.
Good records management practices keep zombie records from doing life-altering damage not to mention devouring your valuable time. Need a professional zombie records slayer? Contact us today!
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Seasonal home maintenance classes
Whether you own your home or are renting, make sure your home is ready for the seasons ahead! This seminar is presented by HomeStreet Bank to help you learn basic home maintenance, what you need to do when the temperature changes, covering the cost of home maintenance, and you’ll be provided with a home maintenance checklist.
There are two dates available for this class:
- Wednesday, November 2 from noon to 1 p.m. at the Chinook Building in downtown Seattle
- Monday, November 7 from noon to 1p.m. at the South Treatment Plant in Renton
Registration is required for this event. Call the Hometown Hotline at 888-425-6990, or go online to: www.homestreet.com/KingCo
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New discounts available for employees
Discounts for the Summit at Snoqualmie 2016-2017 Season Pass are available through December 31, 2016. To take advantage of the King County Discount for Xpass (all ages), Gold, Unlimited and Limited (ages 12-61) season passes follow these online instructions. To purchase passes for Snow Guarantee, Child (ages 0-6) and Senior (ages 62-69) please follow these instructions. Information about the discount pricing can be found here.
Shopping discounts: CorporateShopping.com connects employees to over 250 top national retailers offering incredible employee discounts and private offers. Register now. For questions about this program or assistance with registration please email info@corpshopping.com
Car Rentals at Hertz, Avis and Budget: For Hertz discounts input code: CDP number 1742729. For Avis discounts input code: AWD number D134100. For Budget discounts input code: BCD number Z408900.
See all available discounts on the Employee Discount Webpage.
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Safety and security at work
Ensuring your safety and security at work is our top priority. Recently, King County hosted an employee Lunch and Learn with representatives from the Sheriff’s Office and the Facilities Management Division (FMD) Security Unit sharing information and resources.
In response to employee requests, we now have a list of safety tips online. This information from the Seattle Police Department is designed to help you enhance your personal safety and avoid potential trouble.
We have also launched a new online security incident report form. You can use this form to report non-emergency incidents to the FMD Security Unit for possible follow-up. You can report incidents that happen at work or on your commute. FMD Security will also continue to take incident reports by phone at 206-296-5000. As always in an emergency, call 9-1-1 for immediate assistance.
We also plan to add more safety training classes and host more Lunch and Learns focusing on safety and security at work. Look for announcements about these offerings in future issues of Employee News.
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Featured Job: Information Assurance Engineer Senior
Closing Date/Time: Mon. 10/31/16 4:30 PM Pacific Time
Salary: $41.57 – $52.69 Hourly, $86,465.60 – $109,595.20 Annually
Job Type: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week
Location: Chinook Building – 401 5th Ave, Seattle, Washington
Department: King County Department of Information Technology
Description: King County Information Technology (KCIT) is seeking a Senior Security Engineer. The Senior Security Engineer will be responsible for daily monitoring, management and administration of information security. The Senior Security Engineer proactively protects the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of information technology resources. Incumbents resolve information security issues for internal and external customers and enforce security policies, standards and procedures.
King County Information Technology Department is taking organizational change from multiple, functionally focused organizations (decentralized model) to one world class technology services provider.
Learn more about this position or view all available jobs.
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The Annual Employee Giving Drive: Nonprofits helping kids
The County’s 2016 Annual Employee Giving Drive is approaching the halfway point, and this year’s goal is to raise $1.82 million. King County employees have donated $419,780.58 so far, bringing the drive to 23.1% of the goal!
If you’ve made it to one of the nonprofit expositions, you may know you can win prizes just by learning about five attending nonprofits! (This can be done virtually, as well.) To enter a drawing for the grand prize of Seattle City Pass, movie tickets, and fun giveaways, visit nonprofits (in person, or through the online video presentations) and fill out the “passport.” The drawing will take place November 9. You will be notified if you win, and winners will be posted on the website.
This week, we’re featuring four nonprofits serving children in the King County area, and each is eligible to receive donations through the Employee Giving Program!
- Seattle Children’s Hospital and Research Foundation (9002) – Seattle Children’s Hospital, Foundation and Research Institute together deliver superior patient care, advance new discoveries and treatments through pediatric research.
- Make-A-Wish Foundation® of America (5048) – We grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.
- March of Dimes Foundation, Washington Chapter (4024) – To improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality, through programs of research, community services, education and advocacy.
- St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (serving AK, ID, MT, OR & WA) (4015) – Researches and treats deadly childhood diseases – primarily cancer. Families are never billed by St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food. Discoveries freely shared worldwide.
The Employee Giving Program is a philanthropic resource for King County employees that benefits county employees by providing prescreened nonprofits, allowing you to plan your giving, making it possible for you to donate time (vacation or compensatory hours), and offering anonymity.
You may pledge either online in PeopleSoft or with a paper form. Through payroll donations, employees can donate to as many as 20 nonprofits, and contributions can be made bimonthly (first two pay checks each month), monthly (second paycheck each month) or annually (first paycheck in January).
Every donation made through the Employee Giving Program is tax deductible. Just keep track of the proper paperwork and you can deduct your donations when you file your taxes!
This year’s drive runs through November 18. For more information, visit the EGP site. For additional questions, contact your EGP Ambassador, email EmployeeGiving@KingCounty.gov or call 206-263-9405.
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The Kitsap County Civilian Navy visits King County to learn about Supported Employment
In June 2016, King County hosted the Kitsap County Civilian Navy to share best practices about supported employment in order to assist them to grow and develop their own Supported Employment Program. During the Navy’s visit they toured the workplaces of three employees: Jennifer in DES Records and Licensing Division, Tony in DPH Financial and Administrative section, and Kirsten in DCHS Community Services Division, who showcased their work.
Debra Wood, Kirsten’s supervisor, states, “It’s been wonderful to see Kirsten grow. [The Supported Employment Program] is a terrific! I want everybody who has a developmental disability to have the opportunity to experience this kind of support to help them grow into who they know they can be.”
Watch the short video below that highlights the Supported Employment Program and the Navy tour. Please contact Christina Davidson, Supported Employment Program Manager, to learn more about ways you can take advantage of this program.
In addition to King County’s program, the Navy also tour Microsoft’s Supported Employment Program to gather ideas from the private sector. More private and public sector organizations are seeing the benefits of inclusive hiring and developing programs to increase representation of individuals with developmental disabilities.
“It is very exciting to see large organizations in the both the private and public sector solve their business needs utilizing this untapped workforce,” says Christina Davidson, King County’s Supported Employment Program Manager.
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Community Supported Agriculture program proves County employees and local farms make a great pear
The farm-to-table effort has steadily grown in popularity over the last few years, giving rise to a new movement that brings together farms and local employers called farm-to-work. King County joined this movement earlier this year when it launched its Farm Fresh Local Program, bringing healthy, delicious produce to employees at select worksites.
The Farm Fresh Local pilot is a collaboration between the Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP) and the Human Resources Division’s Employee Health and Well-Being program. Together they brokered relationships to test delivery at eight King County worksites from three CSA farms—Seattle Tilth, Oxbow Farm, and Pike Place Market Farm to Go. The collaboration is designed both to support employees who want to focus on healthier eating, and to strengthen the local food economy.
“I love the CSA project,” said Diane Korf, a Juvenile Probation Counselor with King County Juvenile Court. Diane volunteers as a Farm Fresh Local CSA Coordinator for her work location, and coordinates the delivery of CSA boxes to employees who subscribe.
“I really appreciate that King County is on board, helping its employees access better quality foods and now giving them Healthy Incentives credit”, added Diane. Subscribing in the 2016 pilot season helped put employees on a path to earning lower out-of-pocket medical costs for 2017.
Through the CSA pilot, King County employees choose which sized box, or “share,” best suits their needs and pay up front for the produce to be delivered to their participating King County worksite for 15 to 20 weeks, from June through October. A typical 15-week share runs around $300-400, depending on the farm, the share size, and other factors. The weekly delivery comes with fruits and vegetables, as well as a Fresh Sheet which includes recipe ideas, a popular aspect of the program.
“I enjoy supporting the CSA program because it gives our County employees yet another opportunity to bring healthy vegetables into their kitchens and support local agriculture,” said Faon O’Connor, an Administrative Specialist with Public Health – Seattle & King County who serves as a CSA Coordinator for the Chinook Building.
District Court employees happy with the variety and convenience of their CSA delivery.
“Personally, I also enjoy the chance to try new vegetables and come up with meals based on the produce that shows up!”
In addition to the personal health benefits, the Farm Fresh Local CSA raises awareness about local agriculture and helps to support the long term viability of farming in our community. Employees participating in the program represent a new market for local farms and are thus deeply connected to local agriculture. In this way, King County is also directly ensuring that farming operations within the area are successful, thriving business.
“We all feel better when we eat healthy fruits and veggies,” said Michael Lufkin, Local Food Economy Manager with DNRP. “Supporting locally sourced food supports both the health and well-being of families and helps build stronger more sustainable communities.”
“Employees get a better product, they know where it came from and they’re supporting a local farmer.”
About 100 County employees subscribed for workplace CSA delivery this past season at the eight participating locations. An upcoming evaluation will determine whether the Farm Fresh Local CSA pilot will continue next year and, if so, at what locations. To stay tuned about future plans and learn more about the Farm Fresh Local CSA program, visit the Farm Fresh Local page on the King County Employee Health & Well-Being website.
To find farmer’s markets, discover what’s in season year round, look up recipes or even visit a local farm, visit Puget Sound Fresh at www.pugetsoundfresh.org. For information about what King County is doing to support local farmers succeed in their businesses visit Farm King County at www.farmkingcounty.org.
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Featured Job: Payroll Administrator
Closing Date/Time: Sun. 10/30/16 11:59 PM
Salary: $27.12 – $34.38 Hourly
Job Type: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week
Location: Chinook Building – 401 5th Ave, Seattle, Washington
Department: Department of Executive Services – Finance & Business Operations Division
Description: Join Our Team! The King County Benefits, Payroll, and Retirement Operations Section (BPROS) in the Finance and Business Operations Division is recruiting to fill twoPayroll Administrators to be part of the Central Payroll team which provides critical support to county departments and agencies to pay our 15,000 employees. Our ideal candidate will possess unique talents and ideas on how to do things differently and continuously strive to improve payroll production.
The Finance and Business Operations Division’s mission is to provide timely, efficient and accurate accounting, procurement, treasury, payroll, benefits and small business services.
Learn more about this position or view all available jobs.
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Social Media Spotlight: Puget Sound Emergency Radio Network (PSERN) Twitter
PSERN will replace the current aging emergency radio communications network that first responders use with a new one. This account is not monitored 24/7.
Follow PSERN on Twitter today!
Click here to view all King County social media pages.
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