Wage Law

A public school district cannot deduct vacation leave and differential leave concurrently. California School Employees Association v. Colton Joint Unified School District (2009) __ Cal.App.4th __.  

A classified school employee is entitled to receive several kinds of compensation and leave when injured or ill: workers’ compensation benefits (Labor Code § 4653); 60 days of industrial and illness leave (Labor Code § 45192); sick leave (Labor Code § 45191); vacation leave (Labor Code § 45197); and a form of leave called “differential leave.” (Labor Code § 45196.) Under the so-called 100-day rule of section 45196, in addition to other forms of leave, an employee is entitled to receive differential leave at half pay for up to 100 days. The California School Employees Association (CSEA) and Haynes, petitioners and respondents on appeal (petitioners), contend that the Colton Joint Unified School District and the school board improperly deducted both vacation leave and differential leave under section 45196 concurrently. The Court of Appeal agreed, holding that the various periods of leave do not run concurrently.

You can download the full text of California School Employees Association v. Colton Joint Unified School District here in PDF or Word format.