Emerging Metro leader who lifts community voices is recognized for completing Ruth Woo fellowship
Crossposted from Metro Matters Metro is proud to announce Alex Madrigal Ramirez’s participation in King County’s 2022-2023 Ruth Woo Emerging Leader Fellowship program. “Alex has also taken a leadership role in launching Metro’s first Employee Resource Group dedicated to immigrants and refugees, and he is the voice of Metro in onboard announcements about the Free Youth Transit Pass,” said Rachel Wilch, a Metro Government Relations Administrator. Ramirez called the fellowship an amazing career development opportunity. Read more.
PeopleSoft outage Friday, Aug. 11 at 3 p.m.
To allow for system maintenance, the PeopleSoft system will not be available starting on Friday, Aug. 11 at 3 p.m. and is scheduled to be back online by 6:30 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 14. During this planned outage, the Business Resource Center (BRC) will apply vendor updates and maintenance. The system will not be available for access by any County staff during this outage window. There will be a communication sent out to all County staff when the system becomes available. This outage impacts all PeopleSoft users. Your understanding and support is… Read More
Women in trades: Ivy Schmitz
Crossposted from the Metro Layover Employee Newsletter Meet Ivy Schmitz. She works as a Utility Laborer in our Transit Facilities Division (TFD). Ivy is one of the 6.2% percent of women who make up the female workforce in the transit trades industry. This industry has traditionally been viewed as a male-dominated field, with women facing educational and training barriers, an unwelcoming workplace culture and environment, and lack of awareness and exposure to the possibility of employment in the trades. Ivy first joined Metro as a Maintenance Crew member in South Facilities and then… Read More
Employees being contacted by firm purporting to represent King County retirement and financial plans
Recently, several employees have reported being contacted by a representative of Equitable financial services, stating that they represent King County employee retirement plans and attempting to get the employees to provide their personal financial information. Equitable does not represent any King County retirement or financial programs and is not a provider of any King County retirement or financial plans. Keep in mind, representatives for King County retirement and financial plans will not call you unsolicited. For security purposes it is recommended that you not give out any personal information to anyone you did… Read More
Administrative Professional Partners benefits employees
Since 2016, the Administrative Professionals Development and Recognition Program has forged pathways for the development and recognition of administrative professionals. Meg Chambers, an administrative professional with the Department of Public Health, says, “The Administrative Professionals Program has made a huge influence on my career at King County. I have had the opportunity to work with other admin professionals to have a diverse set of experiences and perspectives, which has both helped me professionally as another admin professional and provided me with a support network of people who are doing similar work to… Read More
Mad scientist in the woods? Or, just another day at Vashon Treatment Plant
Crossposted from Clean Water Stories Blink and you’d probably miss the driveway into Vashon Treatment Plant. Everything about this plant is pint-sized, a much scaled-down version of the massive clean water facilities servicing the mainland. Despite the solitude, a lot happens in this quiet, serene spot in the woods where all the wastewater going down the drains of more than 1,000 people on the island ends up. Elizabeth Corliss has been at the helm of Vashon Treatment Plant for four years now. Everyone calls her Lizzy. She grew up on Vashon and… Read More
King County invests $30 million to strengthen behavioral health workforce and increase access to services
King County Executive Dow Constantine announced an investment of $30 million in partnership with the five managed care organizations of the innovative King County Integrated Care Network, resulting in a 15 percent Medicaid rate increase to help stabilize the behavioral health system in the region. Investing in the behavioral health workforce is a key component of the Crisis Care Centers initiative and is central to King County’s efforts in addressing a crumbling behavioral health system and increasing access to services and treatment. The 15 percent Medicaid rate increase is applicable to all… Read More
EvergreenHealth may be out-of-network starting Sept. 1, 2023
If you are a member of the Regence KingCare PPO medical plan, and you see medical providers who are part of the EvergreenHealth network, please note the following information about their contract with Regence BlueShield. Leaders from Regence and EvergreenHealth are currently in extended contract negotiations. Both organizations are working to reach an agreement before their current contract ends Sept. 1. Here is what you need to know: Most provider-health plan contract negotiations are resolved with no service disruptions and no provider network changes. If an agreement between EvergreenHealth and Regence is… Read More
New requirement to report lump sum payments to the Division of Child Support
According to House Bill 1262, additional income reporting requirements became effective for Washington employers on July 23, 2023. Employers are now required to report lump sum payments of $500 or more to the Washington State Division of Child Support (DCS) before the lump sum is paid to the employee. This requirement applies to only those employees with a current WA Income Withholding Order that includes a payment for past-due child support. The reporting requirement applies to lump sum payments of $500 or more includes, but is not limited to: Retro pay, cash out of… Read More
Pacific Northwest Admin Awards Nominations Close Aug. 9
The third annual Pacific Northwest Admin Awards nomination period ends Aug. 9. Admin Awards is a nationally recognized public celebration of administrative excellence reserved for extraordinary Administrative Professionals. Click this link to submit a nomination. The nomination form includes the option of submitting nominations for the nine individual award categories and one company award category. Finalists and awardees will be announced during the Admin Awards Gala in September. Visit the Admin Awards website for more information.
Employee News 