Any employee of the State Department of Health performing functions which, prior to July 1, 1973, were vested in the Department of Mental Hygiene and who is transferred on and after July 1, 1972, to county or local mental health programs as a result of state hospital closures or scheduled state hospital closures or as a result of a county undertaking the performance of mental health functions previously performed by the State Department of Health shall be entitled while employed in a county or local mental health program, to use for a period of five years following transfer any unused sick leave balance the employee had accumulated while in state employment and had remaining to his or her credit at the time of termination of state employment. Such sick leave shall be held in a reserve account by the state to be used, if necessary, only at such time as the transferred employee’s sick leave benefits accrued as a county employee become exhausted. When county sick leave benefits are exhausted such employee shall be entitled to utilize his or her state reserve account sick leave, until exhausted. The state reserve account for sick leave shall be administered according to the sick leave provisions of Division 5 (commencing with Section 18000) of Title 2 and corresponding department rules. Upon reemployment with the state, a transferred employee’s sick leave credits will be reduced by the number of hours used from the state reserve during his or her employment in the county or local mental health program. The cost of preserving and paying for the state reserve account sick leave shall be totally funded by the state.

(Added by Stats. 1981, Ch. 230, Sec. 55.)