About our website

Copyright

This is a public domain website. Most of the information on this site is not copyrighted. You may use, share or copy such information appearing on this site. Of course, it would be appropriate to give credit to the Office of Financial Management as the source of this information.

Our site may contain text, artwork, photos or other content that is copyrighted by others and is being used with the express permission of the copyright holder. Therefore, it is recommended that you contact OFM Communications for permission to use information contained on this site.

Employee data privacy

Office of Financial Management State Human Resources Division (State HR) is dedicated to privacy practices for safeguarding confidential information.  We use OFM’s privacy principles to guide the actions taken by State HR when collecting and using confidential information.

OFM privacy principles are built on the following pillars in alignment with the State Office of Privacy and Data Protection principles:

1. Security
2. Purpose driven access
3. Data minimization
4. Transparency
5. Accountability
6. Due diligence
7. Lawful, fair, responsible use of data

OFM State HR manages the states central HR and payroll application and other enterprise applications that contain state government employee data. The data in these systems are used for operational HR and payroll daily transactions and for monitoring and reporting functions. We are committed to the security and the privacy of the data contained in these applications. We recognize the importance of safeguarding employee personally identifying information (PII) and follow certain protocols to protect this sensitive information.

Here are some common practices consistent with our OFM Privacy Principles that we do at State HR:

• Collection and storage: When employees are hired, employing agencies collect necessary PII such as names, addresses, social security numbers, and other relevant details. This information is entered into the appropriate HR & Payroll system that securely stores the data in databases or information systems designed to protect against unauthorized access.
• Data security: Various security measures are in place to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of employee PII. This includes the use of firewalls, encryption, access controls, and regular system updates to prevent data breaches and unauthorized access.
• Privacy policies: There are privacy policies, principles and practices in place that govern the collection, use, retention, and disposal of employee PII. These policies comply with applicable laws and regulations, such as the Washington State Privacy Act.
• Access controls and training: State HR ensures access to employee PII is limited to authorized personnel who have a legitimate need to access such information for official purposes. Employees handling PII receive appropriate training on data privacy and security to maintain the confidentiality of the information.
• Incident response and notification: In the event of a data breach or unauthorized access that may compromise employee PII, incident response protocols are followed. This typically involves investigating the breach, mitigating any potential harm, and notifying affected individuals as required by law.

It’s important to note this is not an all-inclusive list and that there are additional policies and practices specific to different agencies or departments that collect the data in the systems that we manage.

While privacy laws protect some personal information, the information we receive from other agencies may become a government record that others can ask to see through public records requests. Therefore, it is important for you to know when we will release or redact data in our possession.

Release of employee data

State HR will share employee data under specific conditions:

• In response to public records request in compliance with the Public Records Act (PRA) – RCW Chapter 42.56.
• As described in an executed data sharing agreement as required by RCW 39.26.340 or RCW 39.34.240.
• In response to a labor union data request for their represented employees per their bargaining agreement.

Redaction of employee data

Prior to release of any information by State HR for a public disclosure request, a review of employee data by the OFM Public Disclosure Officer is conducted to identify employee information that we may need to redact..

Possible reasons for redactions

• Exempted from disclosure under the Public Records Act, RCW 42.56.250:
  • Employee personal and demographics information such as SSN, residential address, personal phone number, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc.
  • Certain information of agency employees if they or their dependents are survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, harassment, or stalking if certain conditions are met.
    • Employees should contact the agency HR Office to discuss the requirements for exempting their PII.
    • The exemption does not apply to news media per RCW 5.68.010(5).
• In compliance with the Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) – RCW 40.24
  • Employees must provide proof of registration in the program to their agency HR Office.
• Employee is in a position that falls under Sensitive Security Information as defined in 49 C.F.R. 1520 (Washington State Department of Transportation Marine Division).
• Additional redactions may be done if the employing agency has identified the employee as being at risk due to stalking, harassment, or domestic violence or the employee is an undercover law enforcement officer.

File Types & Download Tools

OFM publications and data sets are provided in a variety of formats. If you do not have the software required to view a document, you may wish to download one or more of the free viewers using the links provided here.

Adobe Acrobat

Many OFM publications placed on our website are created in Adobe® Acrobat® Portable Document File (PDF) format. PDF is used because this format maintains the original look and feel of large, printed documents, and allows us to place publications on the web in a quick and efficient manner. Further, PDF products are independent of platforms, applications, and distribution media. A free viewer is available at the Adobe® website.

Excel

Data files are often provided as Microsoft® Excel spreadsheets. If you do not have software that will open a spreadsheet in this format, you may wish to use the Microsoft® Online Office Viewer.

PowerPoint

Data files are often provided as Microsoft® PowerPoint presentations. If you do not have software that will open a presentation in this format, you may wish to use the Microsoft® Online Office Viewer.

Word

Several publications are provided as Microsoft® Word documents. If you do not have software that will open a Word document, you may wish to use the Microsoft® Online Office Viewer.

SAS

Selected data files are provided in SAS format. SAS statistical analysis software is required to read and analyze these files.

WinZip

Some large datasets are provided as a self-extracting WinZip® file. A self-extracting Zip file is an executable program file (.EXE file) that includes a Zip file and software to extract or “unzip” the contents of the Zip file. Users can run (execute) a self-extracting Zip file just as they run any other program. Once you’ve saved the file to disk, simply type the filename in DOS, or double click it in your file manager and the file will automatically expand to its original format.

Intended Use

1.1 Purpose

This policy recognizes that it may be necessary to include links on the Office of Financial Management website to websites outside the Office of Financial Management’s control. The purpose of this policy is to clearly state that the Office of Financial Management website is not a public forum for communication and debate.  Links to external websites from the Office of Financial Management pages are established and retained at the discretion of the Office of Financial Management. The policy also provides guidelines on when links to external sources are inappropriate.

The Purpose of the Office of Financial Management website is to promote public service to citizens and businesses by:

• Expanding business and citizen access to government services and government information;
• Offering an easy and convenient process to conduct online transactions with State government;
• Accelerating the delivery of quality online government services;
• Improving the level of customer service from State government; and
• Extending online government services to all citizens in Washington State.

1.2 Definitions

“Office of Financial Management website” shall mean the Internet portal operated and maintained by the Office of Financial Management. The Office of Financial Management is not a forum for public communication and debate. The criteria outlined in this Policy have been established to ensure that the Office of Financial Management website remains a non-public forum.

“Office of Financial Management Internet Properties”, “Office of Financial Management web pages” and “web pages operated by the Office of Financial Management” shall mean web pages whose content is under the direction and control of the Office of Financial Management, including the Office of Financial Management Public website, and other Office of Financial Management websites. (These terms do not include intranet sites controlled or operated by the Office of Financial Management.)

“Purpose” shall mean the stated purpose of the Office of Financial Management website in this policy.

“External website” shall mean all websites other than the Office of Financial Management website.

1.3 Applicability

This policy applies to the Office of Financial Management website and other Office of Financial Management Internet properties. Links to the following types of web pages may be included in the Office of Financial Management website:

1. Other Governmental Units & Educational Institutions — Office of Financial Management may provide links to other federal, state, and local governmental units that provide additional services and information that the Office of Financial Management website users may find of interest.
2. Private Organizations — Office of Financial Management may provide links to private organizations if these organizations offer services that complement the Purpose, information and services offered by the Office of Financial Management and if the links meet the Acceptance Criteria stated in this policy.

Office of Financial Management may provide links to websites that are not controlled, maintained, or regulated by the Office of Financial Management, and as such the Office of Financial Management is not responsible for the content of those websites.

Use of information obtained from External websites is voluntary. Any information obtained from an External website is not guaranteed by the Office of Financial Management and the user should review the accuracy of any information before relying upon it. Reference to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, or otherwise does not represent endorsement or recommendation by the Office of Financial Management.

1.4 Guidelines for Establishing a Link from the Agency’s website to an External website

Using the following Acceptance Criteria, the Office of Financial Management will review every link and decide whether it is appropriate and relevant:

1. The External website corresponds with the Purpose of the Office of Financial Management.
2. The External website is appropriate with respect to the Purpose of the Office of Financial Management. An inappropriate website may include, but is not limited to:

• A commercial website which charges a fee for products or services online;
• A website that exhibits hate, bias, discrimination, pornography, libelous or otherwise defamatory content;
• A website that advocates or promotes the use of alcohol, tobacco, or illegal drugs;
• A website that lobbies, advocates, or advances the policies and priorities of a particular industry, organization or enterprise. This includes sites of non-profit organizations;
• A website that belongs to or supports a political affiliation;
• A website that furthers the agenda of a political organization or candidate running for office;
• A website that promotes or makes available adult or sexually oriented entertainment or materials;
• A website that promotes, opposes, or makes available weapons or gambling.

Additionally, the Office of Financial Management reserves the right to deny links if it determines that a website contains misleading or unsubstantiated claims, conflicts with the Purpose of the Office of Financial Management or does not meet one or more of the criteria set forth in this policy.

1.5 Guidelines for Establishing a Link To the Office of Financial Management website From an External website

Advance permission to link to the Office of Financial Management website is not necessary; however, website users should be aware that the Office of Financial Management website sub pages, including the pages of other state agencies and local governments, may change at any time without notice. Anyone linking to the Office of Financial Management website should continuously verify links to sub pages.

Anyone linking to the Office of Financial Management website shall not display the Office of Financial Management web pages within frames, present the Office of Financial Management content as its own, or otherwise misrepresent the Office of Financial Management content, and they should not misinform users about the origin or ownership of the Office of Financial Management content. Certain information on the Office of Financial Management may be trademarked, service-marked, or otherwise protected as intellectual property. Protected intellectual property must be used in accordance with state and federal laws and must reflect the proper ownership of the intellectual property.

1.6 Link Oversight and Monitoring

Office of Financial Management shall establish procedures to monitor the implementation and continuing oversight of this policy.

These procedures shall include:

1. A process to review all new requests for links from a Office of Financial Management web page to another web page to ensure compliance with this policy prior to granting the request; and
2. A quarterly review of not less than seven (7) percent or a quantity of thirty-five (35) of the then current external content links for each Office of Financial Management Internet Property, whichever is less, to ensure that such links still comply with this policy.

1.7 Removal of Content

Office of Financial Management reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to remove links if it determines that an External website contains misleading or unsubstantiated claims, conflicts with the Purpose of the Office of Financial Management, or does not meet one or more of the criteria set forth herein.

Links from the Office of Financial Management website will be reviewed regularly and may be removed for any of the following reasons:

• The link no longer points to the original information or resource to which it was intended to point;
• The website contains inaccurate or misleading information or has changed such that it is no longer in compliance with the acceptance criteria;
• Access to the information has become difficult due to non-standard formatting, lengthy download times, or intrusive advertising;
• The website is permanently unreachable or remains unavailable for a lengthy period.

Removal of external links on the above bases will be permitted whether or not the Office of Financial Management is legally obligated to act upon any information of which it is aware.

Open data plan

October 2016

The Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) adopted an Open Data Policy that directs state agencies to develop, implement and maintain an open data plan by October 1, 2016.  Agencies also must report to the OCIO at least every twelve months on the status, progress and evolution of their plans.

As part of its core mission, the Office of Financial Management (OFM) performs research and analysis on a vast array of topics.  We are committed to ensuring public access to the data created, received and transmitted by our agency.  By making data available in an open and readily usable format, we facilitate transparency in government and enable the public and policymakers to engage in our work and make better decisions.

OFM will actively support and promote open data in our work as outlined in this plan.

Principles

OFM commits to these core principles:

• We are active proponents of open data as part of our core mission.
• We promote data access for the public, researchers and decision makers while conforming to privacy and data security requirements in state and federal law.
• We will accommodate requests for data and information, subject to privacy, data security, and workload constraints.  Requests that fall under the Public Records Act will be handled in accordance with the requirements of the act.
• Where workload constraints limit our ability to meet data needs, we will pursue Lean principles to improve our efficiency.
• When other data providers face technical constraints limiting their ability to provide data, we will endeavor to use our technical capacity to meet that demand.

Plan representatives

The Assistant Director for Technology Services and Facilities Planning is the Open Data Plan representative, and will guide implementation of this plan and monitor the agency’s progress. Other OFM employees will have a role in implementing elements of the plan as outlined below.

The Assistant Director for Technology Services and Facilities Planning will facilitate the review and evaluation of this plan on an annual basis. Revisions will be proposed to the OFM Management Team whenever necessary.

Definitions

This plan is based upon the following definitions provided in OCIO’s open data policy.

Data means final versions of statistical or factual information that:

• are in alphanumeric form reflected in a list, table, graph, chart, or other nonnarrative form, that can be digitally transmitted or processed;
• are regularly created or maintained by or on behalf of an agency and controlled by such agency; and
• record a measurement, transaction, or determination related to the mission of the agency.

Data set is a named collection of related records maintained on a storage device, with the collection containing data organized or formatted in a specific or prescribed way, often in tabular form.

Open data means public data that are freely available, machine readable, and structured in a way that enables the data to be fully discoverable and usable by end users. Open data does not include:

• Data identified by the state agency holding it as category 3 or category 4 data under the data categorization provisions of the state policy “Securing Information Technology Assets” (OCIO policy 141.10 section 4)
• Any data set or portion of a data set to which the state agency may deny access pursuant to the public records act, chapter 42.56 RCW, or any other provision of a federal or state law, rule, interpretive policy statement, regulation or local law;
• Data that reflects the internal deliberative process of a state agency or agencies, including but not limited to:
  • negotiating positions,
  • future procurements
  • pending or reasonably anticipated legal or administrative proceedings;
• Data subject to copyright, patent, trademark, confidentiality agreements, or trade secret protection;
• Proprietary applications, computer code, software, operating systems, or similar materials;
• Data related to internal state agency administration, including employment records, internal employee-related directories or lists, and facilities data;
• Any unstructured data that cannot feasibly be converted to an open format as required by uniform standards adopted by the OCIO without undue financial, operative, or administrative burden on the state agency; or
• Data or data sets classified as category 2 data pursuant to the state policy “Securing Information Technology Assets” (OCIO policy 141.10 section 4) that the head of a state agency, after due consideration and consultation with the OCIO, determines should not be published on the open data portal because publication would be detrimental to the public interest.

Strategies and procedures

1. OFM will incorporate public access when acquiring, redesigning or rebuilding information systems. 
   • Decision packages for information systems submitted for review by OCIO will include open data as a component of the system design.
   • Project changes or updates discussed and approved at OFM IT Portfolio Committee meetings will include consideration of public access.
   • We will create a list of our agency’s principal databases, noting whether they provide electronic public access.  (Data and Technology) 

2. OFM will coordinate technology planning across agency boundaries to facilitate electronic access to state data by:
   • naming the Assistant Director for Data and Technology responsible for overseeing our open data efforts and reporting outcomes and results to OCIO at least every twelve months.
   • providing oversight of select technology services that interconnect agency systems. (Data and Technology)
   • compiling and publishing a forward-looking list of significant upcoming data releases and updates. (Data and Technology) 
   • identifying staff in each OFM division who will be responsible for management of data, including open data or specific data sets. (All assistant directors) 

3. OFM will develop processes to determine which information the public most wants and needs by:
   • engaging strategic partners whenever possible for suggestions on which datasets to prioritize. (All divisions)
   • tracking the number of hits on select agency webpages. (Communications)
   • reviewing the dates and topics of public records requests to determine whether the most frequently requested data can be posted online. (Legal and Contract Services) 
   • maintaining a list of research and data requests received.  (Forecasting & Research) Note: ERDC already does this.  

4. OFM will develop and use the following methods to readily withhold or redact nondisclosable data.
   • In 2017, all OFM staff will be trained on public records requirements and procedures, including approved methods to withhold nondisclosable data. (Legal and Contract Services)  
   • The agency will develop standards to apply to datasets before opening those that may contain real or potential personal identifiers. (Data and Technology)
   • Pursuant to RCW 43.105.365 and Executive Order 16-01, we will continue to examine our data retention practices and retain personal information only as long as needed to carry out the purpose for which it was originally collected or the minimum period required by law. Our practices also will adhere to the state general retention schedules adopted in 2016 (Version 6.0), which made numerous changes in how data should be handled. (All employees)

5. OFM will develop and employ technical mechanisms for posting open data by:
   • identifying IT tools necessary for extracting, transforming and loading datasets to our websites. (Data and Technology)
   • publishing and posting a list of open datasets that includes their website locations. (Data and Technology)
   • requiring assistant directors to name a person in their unit who will be responsible for posting these datasets and communicating updates to the Data and Technology unit for purposes of maintaining the open data inventory. (All assistant directors/Data and Technology)

Privacy is important to us

Here at OFM, we want to make sure you fully understand what information we may collect from you and why.  We want you to feel peace of mind when using our website, knowing that any confidential information you share with us will be protected.

OFM is working hard to foster a culture of data awareness including protecting confidential data.  We have implemented seven privacy principles to accomplish this, and our staff are required to take privacy training at least once every two years.

OFM Privacy Principles 

• Data is Secure: Protects against unauthorized access
• Data is Minimized: Limits and retains retention and usage
• We are Transparent: Discloses why collected
• We are Accountable: Implements best practices as required by law or policy
• Privacy is Value Driven: Respects privacy rights
• Privacy is Culture Driven: Ensures resources, training and guidance are available
• We are rule followers: Shares confidential information consistent with laws

When you are visiting the OFM website, we do not collect any personally identifiable metadata from you.  In fact, the only confidential data we may collect from you comes directly from you.  At OFM, the information that you share with us is used to contact you and provide you with the services you need.

Please don’t share any confidential or personal information with us unless we request it from you.  We want to make sure anything confidential goes through the correct channels to keep it protected.

Our complete Privacy Notice is here if you would like to read it. 

Thank you for using our website.

Social media comment policy

Comments should be on topic. The views expressed in comments reflect those of the author. You are responsible for the content of your comments. We welcome comments reflecting any point of view that are on topic, but we expect comments to be civil. We reserve the right to remove comments that contain any of the following:

• Comments that are off-topic, not related to the subject matter of the social media platform or links to material that is off-topic or unrelated subject matter.
• Personal information including, but not limited to, email addresses, telephone numbers, mailing addresses or personal identification numbers.
• Personal attacks, hate speech or defamatory statements, including derogatory epithets directed at another individual or group of individuals.
• Violent, obscene, profane or threatening language.
• Comments that suggest or encourage illegal activity.
• Advertisements or solicitations, commercial promotions or spam.
• Repetitive posts, including those that are copied and pasted.
• Comments that promote or oppose any person campaigning for election to a federal, state or local elected office or promote or oppose any ballot proposition, legislation or agency rule making.
• Plagiarized material or material that violates copyright or other intellectual property rights.

We reserve the right to ban users who repeatedly post comments that contain any of the above.

Please note that requests for records should not be submitted via comment.  If you would like to submit a records request to the agency, please use our Public Records Request Center.