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K. Other Benefits Available to You Through the City of Seattle
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides confidential counseling and mental health support for issues such as stress, family relationship concerns, work-related problems, financial issues, eating disorders, and alcohol and drug problems.
Confidential, professional help is available for you and your household members 24/7 online and by phone through Resources for Living. EAP services also include childcare referrals, eldercare information, and financial and legal consultation. No enrollment is necessary.
Employees and household members can receive six visits per issue per year. You choose in-person counseling, phone counseling, or virtual counseling via Talkspace. Talkspace services include text, chat, and private video conference counseling. A week of text correspondence counts as one of six visits.
Employees may use six paid, non-leave hours per year for EAP visits. (Contact Human Resources to schedule time if you want to use paid time.)
For more information on the Employee Assistance Program, visit the program summary page on the City’s Human Resources website.
To explore the program’s services or get started with counseling, visit the Resources for Living website. To login to the website:
- Enter the username “city of seattle”
- Enter the password “city of seattle” (all lowercase letters, with the spaces)
- You can also call Resources for Living at 1-888- 272-7252 or TTY 1-888-879-8274.
Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance (AD&D)
Employees may purchase Accidental Death and Dismemberment insurance (AD&D) within 30 days of their hire date, the date they become eligible, or during any open enrollment period. The City offers AD&D policies through Securian Financial at competitive group rates for coverage increments of $25,000. Employees pay 100% of the monthly premium through payroll deduction.
Employees may choose to cover themselves or themselves and their dependents. The amount of benefits dependents have will be a percentage of the employee’s amount of benefit.
Benefits will be paid in the event of accidental death, subject to some exclusions such as suicide, military service, and war.
For more information, including information on premiums, see the Accidental Death and Dismemberment program summary on the City’s Human Resources website.
Sick Leave Transfer
The City has a sick leave transfer program. You may request to receive up to 560 hours
of donated sick leave for any single qualifying incident from other employees if you meet all the following conditions:
- You have exhausted, or will exhaust in the current pay period, your paid leave balances due to a personal illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that is likely to cause you to go on leave without pay or to leave City employment.
- You provide a medical certification from your health care provider verifying the nature and expected duration of your condition and the need to be off work.
- You have used your sick leave balance judiciously.
- You are not eligible for benefits under SMC Chapter 4.44 or under the State Industrial Insurance and Medical Aid Acts.
You may also donate eight or more sick leave hours to an approved recipient employee, provided the donation will not cause your sick leave balance to fall below 240 hours.
For more information, see Personnel Rule 7.7: Sick Leave and Sick Leave Transfer and/or contact the Department’s City of Seattle Human Resources representative.