Employee News - June 4, 2020

King County Employees sent this bulletin at 06/04/2020 02:55 PM PDT

A service of the King County Department of Human Resources

COVID-19 and unrecognized realities experienced by Black people

Crossposted from Public Health Insider

Face coverings help protect our community from COVID-19. Unfortunately many members of the Black community are concerned that wearing face coverings may lead to dangerous and harmful encounters with law enforcement or other community members. Racism influences perceptions of face coverings and those wearing or not wearing them.

After rounds of engagement and feedback from community partners, the decision was made to roll out the face covering policy as as a directive, not an order, so as to prevent further policing of black and brown communities or perpetuate further acts of racism.

However, in recent days and weeks, Black men and women wearing or not wearing a face covering have experienced racial profiling, and racist and violent behavior. Wearing a face covering or not wearing one is no justification for attacking or brutalizing people of color in King County. Read more.

King County submits plan to re-open limited business activity in COVID-19 recovery

King County Executive Dow Constantine, King County Council Chair Claudia Balducci, and King County Board of Health Chair Joe McDermott today submitted a plan to the state Department of Health that would allow limited and modified openings for a wide range of businesses and personal activities.

The county’s application includes recommendations from King County local health officer Dr. Jeff Duchin that would:

allow all outdoor recreation permitted in Phase 2 in Gov. Inslee's Safe Start plan
expand opening indoor fitness studios for one-on-one activities
allow restaurants to begin opening indoor seating at 25% of normal capacity
allow hair stylists and other personal services at 25% capacity

“Our plan to safely reopen our region’s economy is based on the latest data, recommendations by Public Health experts, and insight from communities and businesses,” said Executive Constantine. “We are ready to take the next careful step toward an equitable recovery that benefits everyone who calls King County home.”

FSA rules relaxed in response to COVID-19

During Open Enrollment last year, you may have elected a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) to have money taken from your paycheck, pretax, to pay for dependent day care or certain medical expenses not covered by your health plan. Now, your expenses may have changed due to the coronavirus pandemic, so the IRS has relaxed rules pertaining to Health Care and Dependent Day Care FSAs. These changes are effective through the end of 2020.

Increase or decrease your FSA contribution

If you have a Health Care or Dependent Day Care FSA, you can increase, reduce, or cancel your contributions without a qualifying life event. If you are not currently enrolled in an FSA, you may now enroll outside of the normal enrollment period. If you want to make any of these changes to your FSA, please contact The Benefits Team.

Please note, if you opt to stop participating in an FSA, contributions already made will not be refunded, however, you may use your FSA to get reimbursed for expenses incurred between Jan. 1 (or your start date) and the date you stop participating. Read more.

Webinar: Supporting our Kids through the Pandemic with Connection and Collective Care, June 10

During the recent Balanced You webinar “A Conversation on Self-care and Connection,” we heard from employees that one of your top concerns is how the pandemic is impacting your kids. Because you asked for help supporting your kids through this, we reached out to one of the area’s top parent coaches, Sarina Behar Natkin, to coordinate a webinar and Q&A session for King County employees.

The webinar will be held Wednesday, June 10 from 12:30 – 2 p.m. Register here.

The session will be recorded and posted for those who cannot attend the live event. Attendees will learn how to support their children and take care of themselves to build resilience and increase connection in the home. Following the presentation, attendees will also be able to get their top parenting questions answered. For questions or more information, contact Balancedyou@kingcounty.gov. Read more.

Facilitating Effective Meetings online webinar, June 10 and 11 -UPDATE REGISTRATION TIME

A common challenge faced by individuals in business is how to lead and facilitating meetings that are interesting and solicit active engagement. This one day training covers the skills used by a facilitator to design and run an effective meeting. How to be a better participant is also discussed. Topics include specific facilitation skills, group decision making skills, and how to deal with disruptive behaviors. This webinar will be let by notable trainer and meeting facilitator Lenny Borer, who specializes in classes on communication and problem solving skills, meeting facilitation, instructor training and giving business presentations.

Wednesday, June 10, 2020, at 9.a.m. Register here.
Thursday, June 11, 2020 at noon. Register here.

The webinar is $65 and space is limited. For more information, contact the Learning and Development Team at KCTraining@kingcounty.gov or visit www.kingcounty.gov/learning.