The trustees may establish rules and regulations which allow academic teaching employees, librarians, counselors, and student affairs officers to reduce their workload from full-time to part-time duties.

Such regulations shall include but shall not be limited to the following if such employees wish to reduce their workload and maintain retirement benefits pursuant to § 20815 of the Government Code:

(a) The employee must have reached the age of 55 prior to reduction in workload.

(b) The employee must have been employed full-time as an academic employee for at least 10 years of which the immediately preceding five years were full-time employment. For purposes of this subdivision, sabbatical and other approved leaves shall not constitute a break in service. However, time spent on sabbatical or on other approved leaves shall not be used in satisfying the five-year full-time employment requirement.

(c) The option of part-time employment must be exercised at the request of the employee and can be revoked only with the mutual consent of the employer and the employee.

(d) The employee shall be paid a salary which is the pro rata share of the salary the employee would be earning had the employee not elected to exercise the option of part-time employment but shall retain all other rights and benefits for which the employee makes the payments that would be required if the employee remained in full-time employment.

The employee shall receive health benefits in the same manner as a full-time employee.

This section shall only be applicable to academic teaching employees, librarians, counselors, and student affairs officers who receive no higher salary than the maximum paid to a department chairman.

If the provisions of this section are in conflict with the provisions of a memorandum of understanding reached pursuant to Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 3560) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code, the memorandum of understanding shall be controlling without further legislative action, except that if such provisions of a memorandum of understanding require the expenditure of funds, the provisions shall not become effective unless approved by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act.

(Amended by Stats. 1979, Ch. 1072.)