Nineteen current and former employees told Commissioner Rachel Grant the Thurston County's Public Health and Social Services Department workplace culture is driving people out.

During a July 21 work session, Grant told the Board of County Commissioners she has spoken with those 19 employees over the past several weeks.

Their concerns span workplace culture, leadership, employee retention, and retaliation. Many told Grant they fear speaking up.

"Every time we recruit, hire, onboard, and train someone, only to lose them because of a work environment, it costs taxpayers money, and it makes it harder to provide the services our community depends on," Grant said.

Grant moved to authorize an independent third-party review of the department, laying out five directives: county staff must return within two weeks with a proposed scope of work; staff must propose a competitive procurement process for selecting reviewers; the board must approve both the scope and the reviewer before contracts are signed; the reviewer must report findings directly to the board, not to department leadership; and the process must offer confidential participation for current and former employees.

Commissioner Emily Clouse seconded the motion.

But the motion did not advance. Commissioner Carolina Mejia said she had not seen Grant's material beforehand and wanted more time.

County Manager Leonard Hernandez said neither he nor the HR director had reviewed the request, and he argued the discussion belonged in a closed executive session given the sensitivity of HR complaints.

Board Chair Tye Menser said he was inclined to support Grant's direction but agreed an executive session should come first.

Grant withdrew the motion. She said she will bring it back after the executive session, which Hernandez said he expects to schedule the week of July 28 with county legal counsel present.

Hernandez said county HR has been investigating complaints as they come in. He did not detail how many complaints have been filed or what actions have been taken.

Department context

PHSS is led by Director Jen Freiheit, who was appointed in November 2024 following a competitive recruitment. The department's divisions include disease control and prevention, environmental health, housing and homelessness, mental health and substance-use treatment, and community health.

Grant said the employees she interviewed work across the organization, many of whom do not know each other. Some left within months of being hired.

What's next

Hernandez said the executive session is expected the week of July 28. No specific date or public agenda item has been posted. Grant has signaled she will reintroduce her motion after that session.

Residents who want to follow the issue can monitor the Board of County Commissioners' posted agendas at thurstoncountywa.gov.