School employees: sick leave: paternity and maternity leave.

Under existing law, when a certificated school employee exhausts all available sick leave, as specified, and continues to be absent from his or her duties on account of illness or accident for an additional period of up to 5 school months, the employee during that additional period receives the difference between his or her salary and the sum that is actually paid a substitute employee employed to fill his or her position during his or her absence or, if no substitute employee was employed, the amount that would have been paid to the substitute had he or she been employed. This bill would additionally provide the differential pay benefit described above for up to 12 weeks if the certificated school employee is absent on account of maternity or paternity leave, as defined, as specified. The bill would provide that the 12-week period shall be reduced by any period of sick leave, including accumulated sick leave, during a period of maternity or paternity leave. The bill would prohibit a certificated school employee on maternity or paternity leave pursuant to the Moore-Brown-Roberti Family Rights Act from being denied access to differential pay while on that leave. The bill would provide that, to the extent these provisions conflict with any provision of a collective bargaining agreement entered into before January 1, 2016, by a public school employer and an exclusive bargaining representative, these provisions shall not apply until the expiration or renewal of that collective bargaining agreement.