Employee News - July 22

A service of the King County Department of Human Resources

King County Employee News

PRINT THIS EMAIL or VIEW THIS EMAIL IN YOUR BROWSER

Highlights

Fire Sunset

Working in smoky conditions

Major wildfires are currently engulfing many parts of the western United States and Canada, including our own state, and it is very likely that we will soon experience wildfire smoke in our region.

If we experience unhealthy air conditions in King County, it is recommended that you limit your time outdoors. 

Click here to read more about information and guidance on working outdoors. 


DNRP WLRD Mirielle

A ‘how-to’ on promoting Equity and Social Justice

There’s nothing like an old-fashioned Lunch and Learn session for comradery, sharing ideas and learning what your colleagues have been up to. Unless it comes during a pandemic where everyone is working from home and lunch is maybe a can of soup. Despite the lack of in-person interaction, the Water and Land Resources Division (WLRD) has made a success of their Lunch and Learn series on their equity and social justice programs.  

Click here to read more about these innovative programs. 


Dow Auburn Hotel

King County purchases Auburn hotel for Health Through Housing

King County has purchased the former Clarion Inn in Auburn, the fifth hotel purchase through the Health through Housing Initiative.

King County Executive Dow Constantine joined Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus and other guests at a news conference today to announce the $11.8 million purchase of the hotel, which will soon provide housing for up to 102 people experiencing homelessness.

Read the full announcement here


Employee Spotlights

Sylvia Reyes RASKC Univision

Officer Silvia Reyes featured on Univision: Cuide a sus Mascotas en los Días de Más Calor

Univision Seattle recently interviewed Animal Control Officer Silvia Reyes of Regional Animal Services of King County as she offered tips to local Spanish-speaking communities on how to take care of pets when temperatures outside soar.

To watch the interview, click here.


Announcements

Activity Centers now open to employees

activity center signage

King County’s Activity Centers are now open to employees and available to support your health and well-being goals.

Unvaccinated employees are required to wear face masks in Activity Centers.

In an effort to minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the exercise facilities were closed last year due to the pandemic.

Balanced You, in partnership with our vendor Vivecorp, County leadership, and Facilities Management Division, has worked diligently in recent weeks to get Activity Centers ready to reopen.

Deep cleaning and equipment maintenance were undertaken. In addition, regular ongoing cleaning protocols have been put in place, as has new signage reminding employees that masks are still required if unvaccinated while using the Activity Center, and that they are to wipe down equipment after use and stay home if sick.

For questions about Activity Centers contact BalancedYou@kingcounty.gov.


Ballot Box Black Diamond

Last chance to sign up to help close a ballot drop box!

Ballots are out. Our neighbors are voting and the countdown to Election Day, August 3, has begun!

Drop boxes close at 8 p.m. sharp on Election Day and there is often a last minute rush of voters looking to get their ballots in on time.

King County Elections needs your help to provide customer service and assistance to voters using this last opportunity to return their ballots.

Sign up and join us for a fun and fulfilling experience helping your neighbors experience the excitement and community of casting their ballots.

You’ll be partnered with Elections staff and no experience is necessary! Have questions? Learn more here.


Young Af Am Man laptop

Access to Mental Health Care Providers

Finding the right mental health care provider for you is important. You may want to speak with someone from a similar background or worldview as you, so Balanced You created a comprehensive list of mental health benefits, resources and directories to help point you in the right direction. Download the King County Mental Health Benefits and Resources guide here.

 

The following resources are included in the catalog:

  • King County Mental Health Benefits
  • Suicide Prevention and Crisis Resources
  • Substance Use and Addiction Resources
  • Domestic Violence Resources
  • Resources and Directories for Black and African, Latinx, Asian and Pacific Islander, Native and Indigenous People, Intersectional, Multicultural, Religious and LGBTQ+ communities
  • Self-care and Collective-care Tips

mindfulness

Mindful Eating and Mindful Movement classes

Balanced You partners with Mindfulness Northwest to offer free classes to King County employees. Mindfulness is a practice that can support you in reducing stress, and bringing awareness and compassion to the present moment. All classes are free for King County employees and held on Zoom.

Mindful Eating: Cultivate a joyful, nourishing relationship with food in this gentle, supportive workshop. Please bring a snack to eat together!

Mindful Movement: An hour of gentle, guided movement appropriate for all bodies.


Career Support Services

  • Administrative Professionals Networking Event – This bi-monthly program is dedicated to providing resources and opportunities for administrative professionals to develop and/or, enhance skills and receive recognition for the important work administrative professionals do.
  • Creating Effective Application Materials – This two-hour virtual workshop will provide you tips and strategies on how to make your application materials stand out. Learning objectives include: 
    • Understanding the purpose of the job application, resume, cover letter and supplemental questions and how to make each of them more effective 
    • Deciding what to include in your resume and the best format to showcase your qualifications 
    • How to write a cover letter tailored to the specific position 
    • Identifying and showcasing your accomplishments 
    • Tuesday, July 27 from 2-4 p.m.
    • Register here

Security Tips - Personally Identifiable Information (PII)

What is sensitive information? Sensitive information is privileged information which – if compromised through alteration, corruption, loss, misuse, or unauthorized disclosure – could cause serious harm to an individual or organization. You must always give the highest level of protection to privileged information. Here we discuss Personally Identifiable Information, or PII.

What is Personally Identifiable Information? For the purpose of data protection, PII is defined as: any instance of an individual’s first name (or first initial) plus the last name, and any one of twenty-nine additional confidential items. Examples of these twenty-nine additional confidential items include: Social Security number, driver license, credit card number and expiration date, date or place of birth, wage and salary information, vehicle identifiers including license plate numbers, and medical history.

Is it PII? The key to remember is, if the information can be used to uniquely identify a specific individual using non-public information, it’s considered PII and must be protected.

Example: John Smith was born on January 1, 1965. Which listing below would be the example of PII?

A) John Smith – DOB 1/1/1965

B) John S. – DOB 1/1/1965

C) John Smith – DOB 1/1/xxxx

The answer is A. B and C are not examples of PII on their own.

Employees who do not take care of sensitive information can lead King County into fines, increased operating costs, loss of customer confidence, and even more governmental regulation. Do your part to keep your sensitive information safe at all times.

If you have questions, please reach out to kcitcsat@kingcounty.gov.


Tech Tip: Get KCIT Help Fast, Without a Helpdesk Ticket

Helpdesk

Good news! KCIT now offers two new services to quickly assist you with common issues… without a Helpdesk ticket! For faster service, log into the KCIT Helpdesk portal and try these new features:

  • NEW! Self-Help Section: browse 30+ user-friendly “how-to” guides for simple troubleshooting tips at home or in the office.
  • NEW! Live Chat: instantly connect with a KCIT expert who can answer your technical questions (excluding password resets) or check the status of a Helpdesk ticket. Live chat is available Monday – Friday, 8 a.m.–4 p.m.

And as always, you can create a Helpdesk ticket and a KCIT technician will contact you­. But please, only call as a last resort so we can keep the phone lines free for reporting major outages and users who can’t log in online.

We hope these new features will save you time. To learn more, log into the KCIT Helpdesk Portal.


POTW Ariya

Pet of the Week: Ariya

Hi!  My name is Ariya!  I'm an eight-year-old female brown tabby. My previous family described me as very affectionate with people. I may get nervous in new situations, so I'm looking for a family who understand that I might need some time to warm up. Once I get to know you, I will be a very devoted friend!

You can find out more about me and my other friends on our website at www.kingcounty.gov/adoptapet. Note that RASKC has moved to adoptions by appointment only. If you have more questions, you can contact RASKC via phone at 206-296-7387 (PETS) or email pets@kingcounty.gov


Featured Job

Engineer III

Salary:$43.78 - $55.49 Hourly

Location: Snoqualmie, WA

Job Type: Multiple job types-career service and/or temp

Department: DLS - Dept. of Local Services

Job Number: 2021TR13816

Division: Permitting

Ongoing recruitment

King County’s Permitting Division is looking for experienced Engineers to serve as leaders on a multi-disciplinary team. This division is looking for candidates with civil engineering experience and advanced knowledge of policy and code analysis.

Learn more about this position or view all available positions


King County Headlines

Tails wag as agreement with 24 city partners for animal services will extend through 2027

Looking for back issues?

Click here for previous editions of the Employee News e-newsletter going back to 2019.

Contact us!

Interested in sharing a news story, or have a news tip? Click here to submit an item to Employee News. For questions or suggestions, please contact KCEmployees@kingcounty.gov.