Any regular employee whose services have been terminated, as provided in Section 87743, shall have the following rights:

(a) For the period of 39 months from the date of the termination, any employee who in the meantime has not attained the age of 70 years shall have the preferred right to reappointment, in the order of original employment as determined by the board in accordance with Sections 87405 to 87424, inclusive, if the number of employees is increased or the discontinued service is reestablished, with no requirements that were not imposed upon other employees who continued in service. However, no contract or other employee with less seniority shall be employed to render a service for which the employee meets minimum qualifications and is competent to render.

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(b) The right to reappointment may be waived by the employee, without prejudice, for not more than one college year, unless the board extends this right, but such a waiver shall not deprive the employee of his or her right to subsequent offers of reappointment.

(c) As to any employee who is reappointed, the period of his or her absence shall be treated as a leave of absence and shall not be considered as a break in the continuity of his or her service, he or she shall retain the classification and order of employment he or she had when his or her services were terminated, and credit for prior service under any state or district retirement system shall not be affected by that termination, but the period of his or her absence shall not count as a part of the service required for retirement.

(d) During the period of his or her preferred right to reappointment, the employee, in the order of original employment, shall be offered prior opportunity for temporary service during the absence of any other employee who has been granted a leave of absence or who is temporarily absent from duty. However, his or her services may be terminated upon the return to duty of the other employee, the compensation he or she receives shall be not less than the amount he or she would receive if he or she were being reappointed, and that the temporary service shall not affect the retention of his or her previous classification and rights.

(e) At any time prior to the completion of one year after his or her return to service, he or she may continue or make up, with interest, his or her own contributions to any state or district retirement system, for the period of his or her absence, but it shall not be obligatory on a district to match these contributions.

(f) If the employee becomes disabled or reaches retirement age at any time before his or her return to service, he or she shall receive, in any state or district retirement system of which he or she was a member, all benefits to which he or she would have been entitled had the event occurred at the time of his or her termination of service, plus any benefits he or she may have qualified for thereafter, as though still employed.

(Amended by Stats. 1995, Ch. 758, Sec. 169. Effective January 1, 1996.)