Employee News
Telling the stories of King County employees
Open Enrollment starts today Take a fresh look at your benefits Make the most of your robust King County employee benefits package by making informed decisions for next year during Open Enrollment, Nov. 1 – 15. Learn more Use the following resources to learn more, and ensure you are selecting the right benefit options for you and your family: See what’s changing next year. Register for a live Open Enrollment information session. Watch the Open Enrollment Overview Find out about the updated PeopleSoft Open Enrollment tool: Watch the Completing Open Enrollment with… Read More
Salary: $25.68 – $32.57 Hourly Location: Seattle, WA Job Type: Regular, Full time, 35 hrs/week Department: KCSC – Superior Court Job Number: 2020-12329 Division: Court Ops Support Services Closing: 11/3/2020 11:59 PM Pacific Learn more about this position or view all available positions.
Do you have ideas on how King County can better support the well-being of you and your colleagues? In response to employee surveys and listening sessions, Balanced You, is developing two new well-being advisory committees: one for telecommuters and one for essential employees working onsite. Anyone interested is invited to apply. Visit this Balanced You blogpost for more information.
Crossposted from Metro Matters After 21 years of service to the residents of King County, King County Metro is celebrating the “retirement” of the last diesel-only coaches in its fleet, continuing the agency’s commitment to a zero-emission future. After the first “1100” model coaches joined Metro in 1999, the fleet had 1,100 diesel-only coaches. Today, that number is zero. All Metro coaches are now either fully-hybrid (diesel-electric) or zero-emission coaches (electric trolleys and battery-electric coaches). Metro proudly joins only a handful of large transit agencies in the U.S. that have a fleet that… Read More
Crossposted from Public Health Insider The Governor’s Stay Home Order, business closures and other strategies helped slow the spread of COVID-19. Unfortunately, the social isolation and stress resulting from these efforts, combined with less access to external supports, may be increasing the occurrence of family violence. Using data from emergency department visits, the legal system and the National Domestic Violence Hotline, Public Health – Seattle & King County released a new report comparing 2020 domestic violence patterns to the prior year. Within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, people continue to seek out domestic violence… Read More
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
This senior boy is a super sweet adventure cat! He was brought in by his previous family this spring because they were moving. While with us, he’s wandered around the cat building checking things out (with supervision of course), and wasn’t bothered by the other kitties. Unlike many cats, Maxwell would love to go on walks outside on a leash and harness. Maxwell lived with another cat, and his previous family described him as shy but loving. We’ve noticed that he’s definitely an affectionate lovebug who would be thrilled to cuddle up… Read More
Our democracy works best when everyone has the opportunity to make their voice heard. Now make sure your vote counts. You can track your ballot to make sure that your vote was counted. Use the My Voter Information tool on the King County Elections website. If an issue with your signature comes up, you’ll be able to see that there and get it fixed so we can count your vote. If you have any questions, reach out. Contact King County Elections by email at elections@kingcounty.gov or call 206-296-VOTE (8683). Feel free to share that you’re tracking… Read More
Make the most of your robust King County employee benefits package by making informed decisions for next year during Open Enrollment, Nov. 1 – 15. Here’s how you can learn more: See what’s changing next year. Register for a live Open Enrollment information session. Watch the Open Enrollment Overview video. Find out about the updated PeopleSoft Open Enrollment tool by watching the Completing Open Enrollment with PeopleSoft video or reading the Open Enrollment PeopleSoft Guide. Go to the Open Enrollment website. When you are ready, Go to Open Enrollment Nov. 1 – 15. If you have questions about your benefits or need help with Open… Read More
Crossposted from Public Health Holidays are going to be different this year, no question about it. But we all need to have some festivity, especially in the midst of the all we’ve had to deal with this year. Halloween has some good celebration options since many activities can be outside and mask wearing is part of the holiday, but there are still some risks with COVID circulating. Public Health has tips to prevent illness, help our community stay on track for reopening, and still retain some of the spooky and sweet flavor… Read More
This week, we are highlighting nonprofits whose work supports animal welfare. These and hundreds of nonprofits are participating in this year’s Annual Giving Drive. Best Friends Animal Society (5007): For 30+ years, we’ve run the nation’s largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals and built effective programs reducing the number of animals entering shelters. Eastside Audubon (994): We work to protect birds, other wildlife, and our community’s natural resources through education, advocacy, community science, and habitat restoration. Marine Mammal Center (2792): Thousands of orphaned, sick and injured marine mammals would have died if not for our state-of-the-art animal care and research… Read More
By now, many employees have been notified that Skype is retiring and King County is moving to Teams. Most employees will move by the end of the year, and KCIT will let each person know multiple times by email when that happens for them. For those employees wondering how Teams will work for their phone calls, the process is super easy. Below is a sneak peek at the new Teams screen showing how to make a call. KCIT will let each employee know when Teams phone calls are turned on. Moving to Microsoft Teams is a big change, and KCIT is here to make… Read More
Dear fellow King County employee, This has been a challenging year. We’ve had to radically change many aspects of our lives. The way we work has shifted dramatically for all of us, whether you are working onsite and remotely. First responders and employees delivering in-person services continue to do extraordinary work, adjusting to new safety measures and protocols. Teleworkers have adapted to new technology and changes in the way services are offered. Employees with school-aged children are juggling multiple roles, while the demands of work remain. I thank you for your efforts…. Read More
Are you covering a spouse or state-registered domestic partner on your King County medical plan next year? If so, a monthly Benefit Access Fee may apply, depending on the medical plan you choose and your employee benefit group, as shown below. The Kaiser Permanente SmartCare medical plan has no Benefit Access Fees. If you are eligible for an exemption to the Benefit Access Fee, you must select this each year during Open Enrollment, Nov. 1–15. Benefit Access Fee exemptions If your benefit group and medical plan have a Benefit Access Fee, it automatically applies each year…. Read More
Crossposted from Election Connection Election Day is officially a week away! Can you believe it? With ballots mailed and drop boxes open since mid-October, here at King County Elections, we’ve been in the middle of an election for a while now and are going full speed ahead! This year, we projected record-breaking turnout at 90%, and it looks like we’re well on our way! King County has shown up and we’re already at about 55% turnout. Out of 1.4 million registered voters, we’ve had more than 800,000 ballots returned already! We’ve never… Read More
All county employees using County devices will receive a critical operating system update beginning Oct. 26. This update will result in minor changes to the appearance of your system. Most of the update will not require any action on the part of users except for a restart of their device. The restart will take a bit longer than typical for updates, from about five to 20 minutes. Thanks for your cooperation, and please let us know if we can answer any questions about the update. Please contact the Helpdesk if you experience any issues.
Team Leadership – Online – Team leaders must account for the special and unique circumstance of working in a team where responsibility, accountability, communication, and leadership are shared. Know the benefits and challenges as well as key sources of motivation of empowered teams. You’ll also learn approaches for managing conflict in teams. This training takes place on Wednesday Nov. 4, from 1-4 p.m. The cost is $89 and space is limited. Register here. Brain-based Time Management – Online – What we do and how we do it are driven by how our brains are wired. Neuroscience tells… Read More
Crossposted from KC Employee Giving You asked for it, and we created it. A highly requested list for this years Employee Giving Program was non-profits who are actively serving those affected by COVID-19. This above link to the comprehensive list is the result of a collaborative, cross-departmental effort to uplift EGP nonprofits that are working with communities who have been particularly impacted by COVID-19/are “on the frontlines.” This workgroup is centered on mutual support of each other as Ambassadors and of the community. The group has taken a broad, inclusive approach to identify the… Read More
KCIT has resolved the issues that were impacting the King County website and the PeopleSoft system, and both of these resources are now available for use. Thank you for your patience and understanding – we appreciate it.
Don’t race against the clock and wait till 7:59 p.m. on Election Day to get your ballot to your nearest Drop Box. King County Elections is expecting about 500,000 ballots back through drop boxes on Election Day alone. Avoid the traffic and get it done early. There are three ways to return your ballot: Ballot Drop Box: If you don’t send back your ballot in the mail, return your ballot to a nearby Drop Box—no stamp required. By mail: We recommend dropping your ballot in the mail by the Friday before Election Day to make sure it… Read More