Wake County Celebrates Black History

In celebration of Black History Month in February, the Wake County Public Libraries will host, “Black History Month: A Cultural Event for All to Experience,” on Saturday, February 20, from 10 a.m.-3p.m. at the Wake County Commons Building.

Employees and their families are invited this free event, which is co-sponsored by The Friends of Wake County Public Libraries. Activities are planned for all ages, including story time and games for kids; a talent show for anyone over age 3; a quiz bowl for middle school ages; musical entertainment and more.

The day will feature guest speaker, Ann Atwater, who will share her experience as an African American civil rights leader in central North Carolina. Other special guests include Ken Smith, an anchor for WRAL news.

Participants are encouraged to pre-register for various activities, as well as the entire event. Large groups are welcome. For more information or to register, call any Wake County Public Library.

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Exhibit and Film Series Opens at Historic Oak View County Park

Historic Oak View is hosting the exhibit, “The Carolina Mountains: Photography of Margaret Morley,” through Sunday, August 29, 2010. The exhibit is on loan from the North Carolina Museum of History.  

The exhibit features photos taken at the turn of the 20th century in the North Carolina mountains. Morley’s photos were published in 1913 as a book entitled The Carolina Mountains. The book has recently been reprinted byBright Mountain Books.         

In conjunction with the exhibit, the park will also host a film series through May 2010. Films will be shown the first Saturday of each month at 1 p.m. Future screenings include Cold Mountain and Where the Red Fern Grows.

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Outstanding County Program Award Applications Due

Applications for the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) Outstanding County Programs Award are due Friday, February 26, 2010. The purpose of the award is to recognize outstanding county programs and share information pertaining to these programs with other counties.

Nominated projects or programs must have started between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009. Judges will select three winners from each category: General Government, Human Services and Public Information/Participation. Winners will be honored at a future meeting of the Wake County Board of Commissioners featured in CountyLines, the newsletter of the NCACC.

Past winners from Wake County include the Wake County Crisis Intervention Team and the Blue Ribbon Committee on the Future of Wake County.

For more information or to nominate a program, visit www.ncacc.org/awards/ocpa/about.

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Updating Beneficiary Information

Employees can now view current life insurance plan elections and update beneficiaries online through Standard Life, Wake County’s life insurance provider.

To update life insurance information, visit www.wakeemployees.com/benefits/life_std and click on the Online Beneficiary Update link. 

Any employee who needs assistance accessing the tool can click on How to Login and Update Beneficiaries Online.

In addition to updating life insurance beneficiaries, employees should also review their chosen beneficiaries annually for retirement and 401K plans. To confirm current beneficiaries for retirement, contact the N.C. Retirement System at 733-4191. To confirm current beneficiaries for 401K plans, contact Prudential at 1-866-627-5267.

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Human Services Employee Honored

The N.C. Black Women's Empowerment Network (NCBWEN) awarded its 1st Annual Presidential Award to Sonya Reid on December 6, 2009. Sonya is a Health Promotion Chronic Disease Prevention Program Manager with Wake County Human Services.

The organization's purpose is to empower and advance black women in all aspects of their lives. One of its many tenets is to help alleviate health problems concerning black women.

Sonya has been a member of the NCBWEN since February 2009, and is the current Health Committee chair. She has led the organization in several health education campaigns, including the 2009 Komen Race for the Cure, and for ovarian cancer, breast cancer and diabetes.  

Congratulations, Sonya, on a job well done!

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Social Networking Guidelines

In June 2009, the County launched social media features to provide new ways for citizens and employees to stay connected to County news. These features include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs. Guidelines for use of these tools can be found at www.wakeemployees.com/support.

Wake Public Affairs Office reviews, edits and publishes all Facebook, Twitter and YouTube content. Any department that would like to request an item to be posted on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube can send the request to pao@wakegov.com.

To request a blog, go to www.wakeemployees.com/support. When a blog application is approved, departmental blog owners become responsible for its administration.

Staff, while using county equipment or on work time, should limit use of these sites for business purposes only. For questions related to acceptable use of county time, supplies and equipment, visit www.wakeemployees.com/humanresources/policymanual.

At this time, departments and programs are asked not to set up their own accounts, but to take advantage of the County’s tools. Questions regarding use or content can be directed toward the Web Support Team at wwwadmin@wakegov.com or the Public Affairs Office at pao@wakegov.com.

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HR Policy: What is FMLA Leave?

FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) provides up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave in a 12-month period. In addition, FMLA Military Caregiver leave allows for a total of 26 weeks off within a 12 month period. This means that the job, or a substantially equivalent job, will be held while an employee is absent, and will not be counted against an employee. Wake County will continue to pay a portion of benefits while on FMLA if paid leave benefits are exhausted.  

To be eligible, an employee must

• have worked for Wake for at least 12 months at some time in the past.
• have worked at least 1,250 hours during the previous 12-month period.

FMLA is available for reasons including absence due to a serious health condition, to care for a family member with a serious health condition, to care for or bond with a new child, to address a need as a result of a military deployment of a family member, or to care for a family member who has been injured in the line of duty while on active military duty in the Armed Forces.

FMLA runs concurrently with County sick leave, holiday leave, annual leave and/or leave without pay. An employee must exhaust available paid leave before going on FMLA leave without pay in accordance with County Policy.

Law requires FMLA is given when appropriate. A supervisor may ask an employee to take FMLA, even if one did not apply for it.

For questions about FMLA, call Human Resources at 856-6090.

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