When a person employed in the classified service is absent from his or her duties on account of illness or accident for a period of five months or less, whether or not the absence arises out of or in the course of employment of the employee, the amount deducted from the salary due the employee for any month in which the absence occurs shall not exceed the sum which is actually paid a substitute employee employed to fill the employee’s position during his or her absence.

Except in a district where the governing board has adopted a salary schedule for substitute employees of the district, the amount paid the substitute employee during any month shall be less than the salary due the employee absent from the employee’s duties.

Entitlement to sick leave provisions under this section, if any, shall be considered “entitlement to other sick leave” for the purposes of computing benefits under Section 88192 if the absence is for industrial accident or illness and shall be used after entitlement to all regular sick leave, accumulated compensating time, vacation or other available paid leave has been exhausted.

This section shall not apply to any community college district that adopts and maintains, in effect, a rule which provides that a regular classified employee shall be credited once a year with a total of not less than 100 working days of paid sick leave, including days to which he or she is entitled under Section 88191. These days of paid sick leave, in addition to those required by Section 88191, shall be compensated at not less than 50 percent of the employee’s regular salary. The paid sick leave authorized under such a rule shall be exclusive of any other paid leave, holidays, vacation, or compensating time to which the employee may be entitled. Nothing in this section shall preclude the governing board from adopting such a rule.

(Amended by Stats. 1995, Ch. 758, Sec. 234. Effective January 1, 1996.)