Employee News
Telling the stories of King County employees
The second open enrollment season for enrolling in Apple Health (Medicaid) or Qualified Health Plan coverage through WA Healthplanfinder runs from November 15, 2014 through February 15, 2015. In King County, we expect an increase in the number of insurance carriers and Qualified Health Plans from which individuals will be able to choose, and small businesses will also be able to begin purchasing coverage for their employees through WA Healthplanfinder. In preparation for the new enrollment season, Public Health-Seattle & King County — the lead In-Person Assister Organization for King County —… Read More
5th Avenue Theatre – $25 Tickets to A Christmas Story, November 25-30 (check dates). To get this special deal, use the promotion code FAMILY when you place your order. Click the link: http://www.5thavenue.org/FAMILY. Summit at Snoqualmie – Get discounts for yourself and your family with your King County ID. Adult Day Ticket (Ages 13+) = $50 (Regular $68), Adult Night Ticket $33 (Regular $41). See all discounted rates and instructions. See all available discounts on the Employee Discount Webpage.
Margaret Thompson is a Customer Service Hero because customer service is her primary focus even though she is “behind the scenes”. She understands that what she produces in the Print Shop helps other county agencies accomplish their mission of promoting the programs and services King County delivers. Margaret goes above and beyond the norm by immediately contacting her customers when she finds a discrepancy in the work order request. Her patience and dedication to create the best products are displayed when she helps the customer resolve issues associated with their work order… Read More
Application deadline: Fri. 11/28/14 4:30 PM Salary: $32.43 – $45.40 Hourly (20 hours) Department: Department of Adult & Juvenile Detention Description: The Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention (DAJD) is seeking a highly motivated individual to occupy the position of Registered Nurse for our Juvenile Division. This position is responsible for providing nursing services to detained youth that may possess a wide range of physical, mental health and behavioral problems. Learn more about this position or view all available jobs.
The King County Employee-Based EEO/AA Advisory Committee presents “Bravery in Equity: Are you brave enough to have a conversation about equity?” Beginning in November 2014, this project will bring a selection from the Pacific Science Center’s “RACE: Are WE So Different?” exhibit to King County facilities for one year. Each location will host four educational panels that will be rotated every three months. These panels provide a brief history of equity and social justice facts in King County and surrounding areas. We hope this exhibit challenges King County employees and patrons to… Read More
John Sharp worked as a truck driver for King County’s Solid Waste Division since 1990, something that he loved doing. But in 1999, he lost an arm in a motorcycle accident. Even with his disability, John wanted to get back to driving grapples, packers and other heavy machinery. So with the help of King County’s Disability Services Program, he was equipped with specially-designed accommodations that allowed him to operate heavy machinery at the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill, and get back to work. Watch this short KCTV video on John’s story.
Dear King County Employee: If you’re eligible for benefits with the County, begin checking your home mailbox for important information about this year’s benefits open enrollment, which will run Nov. 1 – Nov. 15. While you’re waiting for open enrollment to begin, you can get ready by: reading the information you’ll be receiving, and updating the password for your PeopleSoft account if you haven’t logged in to PeopleSoft recently. Every 90 days, PeopleSoft requires you to update your password. To do so, go to www.kingcounty.gov/mybenefits and follow the instructions. Call 206-263-4357 if you… Read More
Please take a moment to ensure you are prepared for winter weather at home: Make an emergency plan and assemble an emergency kit. Buy flood insurance now if you live in an area prone to flooding. It takes 30 days for a policy to take effect. Review your current policy; a standard insurance policy typically doesn’t cover flood damage. Have a plan to relocate your family and any pets or livestock out of harm’s way. Purchase an inexpensive battery-operated or hand-crank radio and fresh batteries so you can receive urgent news day… Read More
Dear fellow King County employee: As you know, the Ebola outbreak has caused devastating loss of life and decimated families in West Africa. The World Health Organization estimates 10,000 new cases of Ebola could occur every week by December if the virus is not contained. With our Public Health department leading the way, we in King County are prepared in the event that the Ebola virus should ever come to Washington State. Our experts tell us that the most effective way to prevent the virus from spreading is to support the communities… Read More
Greetings Harold [Taniguchi, Director, Department of Transportation], I am writing to let you know that tonight, your bus operator, route 17 bus #2737, was excellent at working with a rider with special needs. She was able to diffuse a potentially difficult interaction between passengers, and develop a trust with this young man in a very short time. Her calm and caring command, her extra helpfulness, and lack of judgmental treatment, helped all of us riders. I am sure that this young man left the bus with a little less anxiety and a little more… Read More
On Thursday, Nov. 20, King County will host an Equity and Social Justice (ESJ) Fair to showcase ESJ work efforts, results, and future plans across all of our departments and agencies. The ESJ Fair has three goals: Build internal awareness of the ESJ ordinance among all King County employees; Showcase recent and current activities and the results of our ESJ work; and Share information and activities across departments in order to learn from each other, stimulate additional action, and inform future work efforts. What can you do to help? Share your ideas… Read More
Within King County Archives’ climate controlled vault resides the first record of marriage in Seattle, the minutes of an 1853 County Commissioners’ proceedings for the Washington Territory and a blueprint of a 1915 King County Ferry. The documents were just a few of the artifacts Archives chosen to highlight for the nonprofit Historical Seattle’s workshop called “Digging Deeper.” The King County Archives was the last stop in the six month series where participants visited a different archive each month to get a behind-the-scenes look into research materials in the many archives in Seattle and King County. “They wanted to increase their members’ comfort level with conducting searches within the archives,” Carol Shenk,… Read More
1. What was your first role at King County? I began my career at King County 25 years ago as a temporary receptionist for the Office of Civil Rights, after identifying the County as an organization where I felt I could learn and further my career. During my career at King County I worked in Human Resources, the Executive Office and in Transit. 2. What do you do as Manager of Career Support Services? My role is to manage the day-to day activities of the Career Support Services staff. As part of my… Read More
The King County Employee Giving Program (EGP) hosted five Nonprofit Expos in September and October to help employees get a better understanding of how their contributions to the Annual Giving Drive have a real impact on the lives of people and animals, on the arts, and on the environment, both here and abroad. The Nonprofit Expos featured more than 140 nonprofit organizations and reached more than 800 employees directly from every King County department and Separately Elected office. “The Nonprofit Expos are about enabling quality conversations between employees and nonprofits,” said Junelle… Read More
Does your work ever require a sign language interpreter to assist a customer in an emergency situation? The Emergency Sign Language Interpreter Program (ESLIP) provides sign language interpreters for emergency and time-sensitive situations on a 24-hour basis, every day for King County and City of Seattle programs. These services are provided to ensure effective communication during emergency encounters and situations with individuals who are Deaf, Deaf-Blind, or hard of hearing using on-call interpreters. Situations when ESLIP interpreters should be called include, but are not limited to:
King County’s Drug Diversion Court celebrated 20 years of changing lives yesterday at an event at King County Courthouse. Drug Diversion Court is a rigorous minimum 11-month, four-phase program that holds participants accountable for their sobriety. Drug Court participants are required to meet with a Drug Court judge once every two weeks, go to chemical dependency treatment three times a week and are randomly drug tested twice a week. The celebration, dubbed “20 Years of Changing Lives,” was attended by County Executive Dow Constantine, King County Councilmembers Kathy Lambert and Larry Gossett, U.S…. Read More
Next time you contact KCIT for email or SharePoint help, you may be talking to an employee who has a four-legged friend helping him in his work day. Dan Johnson, a Systems Engineer with King County’s Department of Information Technology, has been with the County since 1997, initially in the KCIT Help Desk, and now supporting a range of Exchange email, SharePoint and cloud-based services for employees. “My work focus has expanded far beyond Exchange email to include unified communications, the Office 365 suite, and distributed administration and security,” Dan said. “I used… Read More
Whether your passion is protecting animals, improving literacy, preventing hunger, helping seniors or young people, or supporting the arts, there are more than 950 participating nonprofit organizations that you can choose to contribute to in the 2014 Annual Giving Drive, which kicked off September 24. If you make a pledge to any of the more than 950 nonprofit organizations by 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 24, you will be entered into a random drawing for two lift tickets to Stevens Pass. If you have already made a pledge, you will be automatically… Read More
We took bus 7037 on route 14 Saturday, June 28th. We accidentally went the wrong direction but the bus driver, Vickie Stanley, was so helpful. She recognized we were from out-of-town and pointed out the sights we went by. And she assured us she would help us find our stop. She even offered to meet us later with coupons to get discount prices at the tourist places. We exchanged phone numbers and plan to keep in touch, especially if she ever makes it to Arizona. A bus driver became a fast friend… Read More
As you know, the news coverage from Dallas and West Africa has heightened community concerns about Ebola. Public Health has been actively working to provide information and guidance to King County residents, health care providers, and partner agencies. They also want all King County employees to be up-to-date with information and resources about Ebola. First, it’s important to know that no one in King County has Ebola and health officials have determined that the risk of an outbreak is extremely low. Although the healthcare system is getting ready to quickly identify and… Read More