(a) A state member, whose effective date of retirement is within four months of separation from employment with the state, shall be credited at the member’s retirement with 0.004 year of service credit for each unused day of sick leave certified to the board by the state. The certification shall report only those days of unused sick leave that were accrued by the member during the normal course of the member’s employment and shall not include any additional days of sick leave reported for the purpose of increasing the member’s retirement benefit. Reports of unused days of sick leave shall be subject to audit and retirement benefits may be adjusted where improper reporting is found. For purposes of this subdivision, sick leave shall not include sick leave earned as a National Guard member as described in Section 20380.5.

(b) This section shall not apply to a state employee, with respect to sick leave credits earned as a state member under Section 21353.5, except that the member shall be entitled to receive credit under this section for the sick leave the member has earned as a state member subject to any other retirement formula, provided the member has a sick leave credit balance remaining at the time of retirement.

(c) For the purposes of this section, sick leave benefits provided to state employees pursuant to the state sick leave system shall be construed to mean compensation paid to employees on approved leaves of absence because of sickness.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 330, Sec. 11. (SB 782) Effective January 1, 2020.)