(a) An employee may accumulate credit for vacation with pay for which vacation is not taken during the calendar year. On January 1st of any calendar year, an employee covered by Section 42902 shall not have a credit for vacation with pay of more than 384 working hours for 10 or less years of qualifying service or 440 working hours for more than 10 years of such service; an employee covered by Section 42904 shall not have a credit of more than 272 working hours for 10 or less years of qualifying service or 384 working hours for more than 10 years of such service; a Management Personnel Plan employee shall not have a credit of more than 384 working hours for 10 or less years of qualifying service or 440 working hours for more than 10 years of such service; and a campus President, General Counsel, Vice Chancellor, or Chancellor shall not have a credit of more than 480 hours.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) to the contrary, the president of a campus at which an employee is employed, or the Chancellor in the case of all other employees, may permit an employee to carry over more vacation credits than the prescribed maximum when the employee was prevented from taking enough vacation to reduce the credits because the employee (1) was required to work as a result of fire, flood or other similar emergency, (2) was prevented from taking vacation by work the president or the Chancellor, as the case may be, has determined to be of a priority or critical nature over an extended period of time, (3) was absent on full salary for compensable injury, or (4) was prevented by campus rule from taking vacation until December and at that time was unable to take vacation because of illness requiring use of sick leave. This subsection (b) shall not apply to vacation carry over of a campus President, General Counsel, Vice Chancellor, and Chancellor.

When verification of past state service requires it, an employee's accumulated credit for vacation with pay shall be adjusted. In such case, any additional credit which exceeds the maximum carry-over limitation shall be used within one year following the qualifying monthly pay period in which credited.