School and community college employees: absences due to illness or accident.

Existing law requires a certificated or classified school employee, and an academic or classified community college employee, who exhausts all available sick leave and continues to be absent from duties on account of illness or accident for an additional period of 5 months to receive during those 5 months either (1) the difference between the employee's salary and the sum that is actually paid, or would have been paid, to a substitute employee employed to fill the position during the employee's absence, or (2) at least 50% of the employee's regular salary during the period of the absence. This bill would require a certificated or classified school employee, and an academic or classified community college employee, who exhausts all available sick leave and continues to be absent from duties on account of illness or accident for an additional period of 5 months to instead receive the employee's full salary during those 5 months. The bill would make numerous related conforming and clarifying changes.