This communication is being sent to AM Administrators, and Time & Labor (TL) Administrators of PSB agencies.

This communication serves as a reminder of how to manage Organizational Recognition Leave (ERL) and Service Recognition Leave (SRL) balances within Cardinal. There have been no changes to existing processes or functionality.

ERL and SRL Hours in Cardinal

Organizational Recognition Leave (ERL) and Service Recognition Leave (SRL) hours are granted though a balance adjustment in Cardinal. They become available for use on the first day of the leave period when the adjustment is entered and any unused hours automatically expire 12 months later.

• Example: Hours granted in the Calendar ID SM1 2024SM115 are available for use from 8/10/2024 to 8/9/2025 and unused hours expire during the SM1 2025SM115 calendar on 8/10/2025.

Agency Discretion on Usage Timeframe: Per Policy 1.15 Employee Recognition and Engagement, agencies may extend the usage (retention period) of the recognition leave beyond one year in certain scenarios. However, Cardinal is configured for statewide standard usage, automatically expiring ERL/SRL hours 12 months after the leave period of the original balance adjustment.

Adjusting ERL and SRL Hours and Usage Timeframes

Important Guidance on Balance Adjustments

• Do not enter negative balance adjustments for ERL or SRL leave types for active employees in Cardinal, as this will disrupt automatic expiration calculations.
• If unused hours do not expire as expected, submit a help desk ticket by emailing vccc@vita.virginia.gov with “Cardinal TA” in the subject line.

Extending Usage Time

To grant an employee more time to use their ERL/SRL hours, an agency can extend the expiration date by up to 12 months from the original date. The agency first determines the new expiration date, then creates a new balance adjustment for the remaining hours in the calendar that begins exactly one year before the new expiration date.

Example

Scenario:

• An employee was granted 24 ERL hours in the SM1 2024SM108 calendar. These hours were usable from April 25, 2024, to April 24, 2025.
• The employee used 16 hours, and the remaining 8 hours expired on April 25, 2025.
• The agency wants to give the employee an additional three months to use the remaining 8 hours, extending usage to July 24, 2025.

How to Extend:

• To extend the leave usage to July 24, 2025, the agency must create a new balance adjustment for 8 hours in the SM1 2024SM114 calendar as it began July 25, 2024.
• Entering the balance adjustment in the SM1 2024SM114 calendar will set a new expiration date of July 25, 2025, giving the employee until July 24, 2025, to use the remaining 8 hours.

Shortening Usage Time:

Agencies with a policy requiring employees to use ERL/SRL hours within a shorter timeframe than DHRM policy must manually manage ERL/SRL leave balances. This means the agency is responsible for monitoring usage and adjusting the leave balance by removing any unused hours from the original balance adjustment.

Example

Scenario:

• An employee was granted 8 ERL hours, with an agency policy requiring the hours to be used within the month of July 2025. The balance adjustment was entered in the SM1 2025SM112 calendar which began June 25, 2025, making the hours available for use within the month of July.

Discrepancy:

• While the agency’s policy dictates that the hours must be used by July 31, 2025, the Cardinal system automatically sets the expiration date to June 25, 2026 (12 months from when they were granted).

How to Manage:

To enforce the agency’s policy and prevent any unused hours being available beyond the intended date, the following steps must be taken:

• The agency must monitor the usage of the employee’s 8 ERL hours, ensuring all 8 hours are used by July 31, 2025.
• If any hours remain unused by this date, the agency must update the original balance adjustment to reflect only the hours that were used. For example, if only 4 hours were used, the original adjustment should be updated from 8 hours to 4 hours.
• If the original adjustment is not updated, the unused hours will remain in the employee’s balance until the system’s automatic expiration date.

Important: A negative balance adjustment should never be used to remove unused hours.

Refer to the TA374 Managing Absence Balances job aid for more information and detailed instructions on entering balance adjustments.

Regards,

The Cardinal Team

Questions

If you have technical or functional questions, submit a help desk ticket by emailing vccc@vita.virginia.gov and include the following information:

Subject: Cardinal – <brief summary for routing>

Email Content:

• Detailed information about your issue (i.e., functional area, page, actions, error)
• Name, email address, and best contact phone number

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