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AN ORDINANCE relating to employee referral bonuses for nonrepresented county employees for referring employees to the positions of deputy sheriff, corrections officer and detention officer; and establishing an expiration date.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

1.  Recruitment for positions in law enforcement especially public safety and corrections has grown increasingly challenging in recent years.

2.  King County is currently facing an unusually high vacancy rate among its law enforcement employees, particularly deputy sheriffs, corrections officers and detention officers.

3.  These ongoing vacancies have a negative impact on the county's provision of essential law enforcement services.

4.  Employee referrals can be a reliable method of attracting candidates who are more likely to successfully complete the required training programs and probationary periods.

5.  Providing an employee referral incentive is an effective way to encourage employee referrals.

6.  In an effort to bolster the number of successful law enforcement candidates, it is advisable to adopt an employee referral bonus for the successful referral to the position of deputy sheriff, corrections officer or detention officer.

                     BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:

                     SECTION 1.  A referral bonus of five thousand dollars shall be paid to a nonrepresented employee who refers a successful candidate to the position of deputy sheriff, corrections officer or detention officer.  The bonus shall be subject to the following:

                     A.  All nonrepresented employees, in any branch of county government, are eligible for a referral bonus, except for those employees who by virtue of their jobs are assigned or tasked with recruiting for deputy sheriff, corrections officer or detention officer.  For example, employees tasked with attending a job fair for recruitment purposes is not eligible for the referral bonus(es) associated with any candidate(s) that were recruited from that job fair;

                     B.  The referral bonus shall be paid only after the candidate has successfully completed the candidate's probationary period in the applicable law enforcement position;

                     C.  The referral bonus shall be paid to the referring employee in the first full pay period following successful completion of probation by the candidate;

                     D.  The referring employee must be an active county employee both at the time of the referral and at the time of the bonus payment;

                     E.  All bonus payments are subject to applicable taxes, retirement or other withholdings;

                     F.  The applicant must include the full name of the referring employee on the applicant's initial employment application, which shall be documented in a manner approved by the applicable recruiting department.  Only one referring employee may be listed on the application and only that referring employee may receive the bonus;

                     G.  The candidate's application must be submitted prior to January 1, 2023;

                     H.  There is not a limit to the number of applicants an employee may refer or to the number of bonuses an employee can receive;

                     I.  An employee may not use themself as the referring employee to a position to which the employee is an applicant;

                     J.  An employee may not refer a person who is a county employee at the time of application; and

                     K.  An employee may not refer an employee who was a county employee at any

time during the twelve months before application.

                     SECTION 2.  This ordinance expires December 31, 2022.