(a) (1) Every academic employee employed five days a week by a community college district shall be entitled to 10 days’ leave of absence for illness or injury and any additional days in addition thereto that the governing board may allow for illness or injury, exclusive of all days he or she is not required to render service to the district, with full pay for a college year of service.

(2) An employee employed for less than five schooldays a week shall be entitled, for a college year of service, to that proportion of 10 days’ leave of absence for illness or injury as the number of days he or she is employed per week bears to five, and is entitled to those additional days in addition thereto as the governing board may allow for illness or injury to academic employees employed for less than five schooldays per week. Pay for any day of those absences shall be the same as the pay that would have been received had the employee served during the day.

(b) Credit for leave of absence need not be accrued prior to taking leave by the employee, and the leave of absence may be taken at any time during the college year. If the employee does not take the full amount of leave allowed in any school year under this section, the amount not taken shall be accumulated from year to year with additional days as the governing board may allow.

(c) The governing board of each community college district shall adopt rules and regulations requiring and prescribing the manner of proof of illness or injury for the purposes of this section. These rules and regulations shall not discriminate against evidence of treatment and the need therefor by the practice of the religion of any well-recognized church or denomination.

(d) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to modify or repeal any provision in Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 120175) of Part 1 of Division 105 of the Health and Safety Code.

(e) Section 87780 does not apply to the first 10 days of absence on account of illness or accident of any employee employed five days per week or to the proportion of 10 days of absence to which the employee employed less than five days per week is entitled hereunder on account of illness or accident or to additional days granted by the governing board. Any employee shall have the right to utilize sick leave provided for in this section and the benefit provided by Section 87780 for absences necessitated by pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, and recovery therefrom.

(Amended by Stats. 2005, Ch. 654, Sec. 41. Effective October 7, 2005.)