Gov. Inslee Issues State Hiring Freeze, Effective Monday

WASHINGTON — The coronavirus has had an ecomonic impact on Washington that is projected to last for months, possibly even years. In an attempt to mitigate some of the damage, Governor Jay Inslee has issued a directive ordering a hiring freeze for all of the state's executive and small cabinet agencies.

The governor says the freeze is unfortunate, but unavoidable if Washington wants to recover from the budget shortfalls caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

"While this is not going to be easy, I ask each agency to use common sense, good judgment and creativity to accomplish the ultimate goal of this directive: to capture immediate savings through spending reductions not related to the public safety and essential health and welfare of Washingtonians," the directive reads.

The directive goes into effect beginning Monday, and also freezes personal service contracts and new equipment purchases for state agencies.

There are some exceptions, mainly that hiring related to public safety can continue. Under the directive, hiring exceptions can be made for jobs that:

• Directly impact public safety
• Are essential to the health and welfare activites of ther state
• Generate additional revenue
• Are required to meet state mandates
• Are otherwise related to the state's pandemic response

Likewise personal service contracts are still allowed for contracts that can help save lives, collect taxes or are privately funded, and equipment purchases can be made if they are necessary to protect public safety or cost less than $5,000.

The governor is also calling on higher education institutions, boards, commissions and other elected officials to impose similar hiring freezes. In late April, lawmakers told the AP they expect the state to lose more than $5 billion over the next three years.