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Workplace Responsibility

Introduction

As a public agency, the Port of Seattle carries a special responsibility to uphold the public trust by adhering to the highest standards of business conduct, ethics and workplace behavior while advancing our mission. Ethical conduct is the underpinning of the Port’s core values, which include: accountability, fairness, honesty, integrity, open communication, respect, responsible stewardship, and transparency. The Port’s Workplace Responsibility program is designed to support Port employees in upholding these values.

Workplace Responsibility Office
The Port’s Workplace Responsibility Office provides overall leadership and coordination of the WR Program. The WR Office:

• Clarifies conduct expectations through continuous refinement in order to achieve organization-wide understanding of Port expectations and how they apply to specific business and workplace activities.
• Guides and supports daily decisions by helping employees develop the awareness and tools necessary to implement good business and workplace practices and engage in sound decision making that proactively takes into account and manages conflicting interests and values. The Office also answers questions and provides guidance when employees are uncertain how to proceed with a difficult decision or situation.
• Fosters a high-trust culture by working with executives, directors, managers and employees to promote development of a high-trust environment to continuously inspire exceptional Port performance and morale, customer loyalty and public confidence.
• Ensures responsiveness, fairness and accountability by timely reviewing reported concerns and potential violations of Port expectations, facilitating independent investigation, and reinforcing fair and consistent accountability across the organization.

The Workplace Responsibility Office is located within the Legal Department, and the WR Officer reports to the Port’s General Counsel.

Workplace Responsibility Officer
Vickie Rawlins began serving as the Port’s first Workplace Responsibility Officer in February 2010. In this role, she has overall responsibility for developing, aligning and implementing Port policies and resources to support the Port’s comprehensive Workplace Responsibility program. Rawlins has extensive work experience in both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining the Port, she served for six years as the Founding Director of the Washington State Office of the Ombudsman, where she developed a nationally recognized independent state agency oversight program. Rawlins also previously served as a senior policy advisor and legal counsel to the Governor. Most recently, Vickie practiced labor and employment law with the law firm of Perkins Coie in Seattle. A native of Flint, Michigan, Vickie is a graduate of Princeton University and received her law degree from the Washington College of Law at the American University in Washington, D.C.