General Questions

Recognizing an employee for his or her many years of service generally is done by giving the employee a career service certificate and/or a pin. These forms of informal recognition items usually are most appropriate for this type of accomplishment. If an agency is considering a more substantial form of recognition, such as a cash or time-off award, the agency should ensure that it is recognizing the employee for demonstrating consistent exemplary performance during the employee's long service career and not merely recognizing the employee for "serving time" or "warming the bench."