EVERETT — New restrictions imposed on the Snohomish County Health Department prohibit diversity, equity and inclusion programs and spurred a hiring pause for the department.
An email from Interim Department Director Pam Aguilar — sent to all Health Department employees Wednesday — announced a temporary pause on hiring. All regular, project and temporary positions are affected; the Department Director position remains open.
Aguilar cites a restriction “embedded in updated contract Terms and Conditions [that] prohibits organizations from operating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs” to receive federal grants.
The pause will take place through Aug. 15. The Department removed a total of 12.5 positions from the careers website, including three Environmental Health Specialists that were already in process, according to Kari Bray, a spokesperson for the county Executive’s Office.
“The department made the decision to pause hiring in order to avoid bringing new team members on board for a position that may not have sustainable funding at this time,” Bray wrote in an email.
On Aug. 15, a federal court will hear a lawsuit filed by 60 organizations nationwide, including Snohomish County, that challenges the legality of the new contract language, Aguilar wrote in her email.
The lawsuit, filed May 2, challenged conditions imposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The county can only receive funding if it complies with executive orders, including the stoppage of DEI programs.
This includes a $17 million Continuum of Care grant award to support the county’s homeless housing system.
In June, a U.S. District Court Judge blocked the conditions, according to Bridget Casey, a government attorney at the County Prosecutor’s Office. The federal government appealed and applied similar language to grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“Snohomish County continues to support and operate DEI programs, and we do not anticipate this changing,” Aguilar said. “However, because federal funders are a large portion of our budget — both directly and indirectly — we have been advised not to sign any new contracts or contract amendments containing this language until further clarity is available after August 15.”
The amount of County Health Department funding affected is unknown.
The Executive’s Office is continuing to discuss potential impacts of funding changes with all departments, Bray wrote in an email. The situation is ongoing and continues to evolve.
Decreased federal health funding is already threatening jobs across the nation, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Taylor Scott Richmond: 425-339-3046; taylor.richmond@heraldnet.com; X: @BTayOkay
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