Upcoming Improvements to Cardinal Employee Self-Service & Planned Outage

The Cardinal Project sent this bulletin at 09/01/2026 10:23 AM EDT

This communication is being sent to all Cardinal Employee Self-Service (ESS) users.

On September 8, 2026, Cardinal is getting an upgrade! As someone who uses Cardinal Employee Self-Service (ESS) to enter time or absences, manage their health benefits, or access payroll information, we want to let you know about the upcoming changes to ESS and the planned system outage.

⚠️Cardinal Outage

Cardinal will be unavailable from Friday, September 4, at 5:00 p.m. through Tuesday, September 8, at approximately noon. During this time, you will not be able to access Cardinal. An email will be sent on September 8th advising you as to when you can access the system.

Plan to enter timesheets, submit absences, print any Cardinal paystubs or payroll information you may need, submit benefit elections, or complete other activities prior to the outage.

Essential Updates for Time & Absence Entry

Timesheet Changes – The timesheet layout is getting a refreshed design and has been enhanced to make your timesheet entry easier to navigate and more mobile friendly.

Updated Absence Entry Navigation

Absence requests will soon be entered on the Manage Absence page or through the Related Actions icon on the timesheet. The Absence tab on the timesheet will no longer be used for entering new absence requests.

Approved Absence Cancellations

You will be able to submit a cancellation request for a previously approved absence directly in the Cardinal system. This means you no will longer need to contact your supervisor to ask for a cancellation — you can initiate it yourself in the system and it will be routed to your supervisor for action.

Approval Monitor Page

A new Approval Monitor page will provide a clear summary of your time or absence request status, along with the approver’s contact details. This will make it easier to understand where your request is in the approval process and who to reach out to if needed.

Use the following resources for additional time and absence entry support.

Time Entry Videos

ESS392 Time Entry Scenarios (Positive Time Reporter)

ESS392 Time Entry Scenarios (Exception Time Reporter)

New! Digital Document Upload for Life Events

When making an update to your benefits due to a Life Event such as marriage, a new child, or other qualifying events, you will now have the option to upload required documents specific to your Life Event directly from your computer or device to ESS. Upon submission, the documents will be sent to your agency Benefits Administrator for review and approval.

For step-by-step guidance on how to upload life event documents use the ESS How to Create a Life Event job aid.