Medical benefits for transgender employees
King County provides comprehensive benefits and services to support the health and well-being of eligible employees, retirees, and their dependents, and now offers enhanced medical benefits for transgender employees. Starting Jan. 1, 2020, King County expanded its medical plans’ coverage policies for transgender employees and their covered family members. King County has covered gender confirmation surgery and hormone replacement since 2015, but starting in 2020, we are covering additional gender-affirming procedures and treatments to comply fully with World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) standards, including procedures most insurers exclude. This week,… Read More
November 2020 proclaimed Native American Heritage Month in King County
As part of our celebrations for Native American Heritage Month, the Metropolitan King County Council and King County Executive Dow Constantine have proclaimed the month of November 2020 Native American Heritage Month in King County. Native American Heritage Month was initially proposed in 1990 as American Indian Heritage Month by U.S. House Joint Resolution 577, and in 1991 by Congress Senate Joint Resolution 172, before November was ultimately proclaimed as “Native American Heritage Month” by President George H.W. Bush in 1991. “Whereas, in King County, we honor the unique government-to-government relationship that… Read More
Representation of Native Americans in Law and Justice webinar tomorrow, November 18
Please join the King County Superior Court in celebration of Native American Heritage Month at a Presentation of Native Americans in Law and Justice Panel Presentation. The event will feature a facilitated question and answer session with guest panelists, including keynote speaker Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis, Ms. Sarah Roubidoux Lawson, Professor Gregory Silverman, and Mr. Rion Ramirez. This presentation is sponsored by the Superior Court’s 2020 Courts and Community Committee. Wednesday, Nov. 18 from 12:15-1:30 p.m. Register here. Space is available and pre-registration is required. For more information view this flyer or contact Beth Taylor at Beth.Taylor@kingcounty.gov.
Thanking our local veterans for their service
Dear fellow King County employee, For more than 100 years, our nation has dedicated November 11 as the day to recognize the brave members of our country’s armed forces past and present. They placed their own lives at risk to defend freedom here at home and around the world. Veterans Day is our opportunity to honor and thank them for their service. As we acknowledge the 115,000 veterans of all ages who call King County home, let us also recognize the 1,314 individuals we work beside every day – the King County… Read More
Access paratransit brings food to 10,000 families in need during pandemic
Crossposted from Metro Matters October is Disability Awareness Month – a month to honor individuals whom our King County Metro Access paratransit team celebrates all year long. Metro’s Access paratransit service provides around one million trips each year to our Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) customers, allowing them to maintain independence and have access to whatever they need to thrive. It’s just one way Metro lives out its mission to provide mobility for all. In a pandemic, that mobility has looked a little different: Access paratransit has mobilized both people and the food… Read More
Navigating the coronavirus pandemic with a disability
Every October, King County recognizes Disability Awareness Month. On Oct. 13, the County Council officially proclaimed October as Disability Awareness Month, and this past July, King County also marked the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), signed into law in 1990. These efforts celebrate the many contributions that people with disabilities make to our community and workforce here at King County. This year, due to COVID-19, the Disability Awareness Month Committee has been developing a conversation about how people with disabilities are being impacted by the pandemic. The Committee created an interactive multimedia article, “Navigating… Read More
Join us for a conversation on the impacts of the pandemic while living with a disability
There are many different types of disabilities: physical and mental, invisible and visible, temporary and permanent. The pandemic has had a unique impact on the lives of people with all types of disabilities, bringing joy, relief, and difficulty. Join the Disability Awareness Committee, Balanced You, and the Employee Assistance Program in a live, virtual conversation on the impacts of the pandemic while livin with a disability. This conversation will feature employees with disabilities who will share their experiences and stories of living and adapting through 2020, alongside employees from Disability Services who will share… Read More
The benefits of King County’s Return-To-Work Transitional Duty Program
Getting all those tasks done at work can be a challenge, especially the “non-essential” ones that just seem to pile up. Does your team have stacks of filing sitting in boxes? Need help staffing a front desk or hotline? Have some documents ready to be scanned so you can go paperless? That’s where King County’s Transitional Duty Assignment (TDA) Program comes in. Providing light duty work to a TDA worker gives you valuable labor you don’t have to pay for while also keeping temporarily disabled workers connected to King County. It’s a win for… Read More
Reasonable Accommodations in King County Superior Court
by Linda K. Ridge, Deputy CAO, King County Superior Court Access to justice for all persons is a fundamental right; however, for individuals with a sensory, cognitive, or physical disability, this access can be filled with challenges. Implemented in 2007, Washington State General Court Rule 33 (GR 33) was designed to assure that persons with disabilities have equal and meaningful access to the judicial system. GR 33 requires courts to provide prompt response to requests for accommodation in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the Washington State Law Against Discrimination… Read More
Disability Awareness Month: Ableism and ally-ship in the workplace
For people with disabilities, navigating a society constructed by and for people considered to have “typical” abilities can be a constant battle, and one that further entrenches the discrimination they face. According to the 2010 census, nearly 1 in 5 Americans experience disability. Some people’s disabilities are visible to others and include physical disabilities such as blindness, deafness, prosthetic limbs, or wheelchair usage. Other people’s disabilities may be less visible or not visually apparent at all, such as behavioral health conditions (depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress), Traumatic Brain Injuries, developmental and intellectual disabilities,… Read More
Employee News 