(a) As a part of employee compensation, the State Personnel Board shall establish rules for the accrual and usage of leave and holidays and for compensation due to emergency closure of state offices or facilities for nontemporary employees in the classified service. All agencies of the executive branch, exclusive of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, shall provide for the accrual and usage of leave and holidays and for compensation due to emergency closure of state offices or facilities for nontemporary employees in the unclassified service in the same manner and amount provided for employees in the classified service.

(b) Any employee in the classified service who has accumulated sick leave shall be authorized to utilize such sick leave in accordance with the criteria established in the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board; provided, however, that whenever an employee is sick and absent from work, the employee may be required to report each day by telephone to the appropriate authority. An employee shall not be required to provide documentation for the use of less than 17 hours of sick leave in any 30 day period, unless the employee has demonstrated excessive or abusive use of sick leave. The State Personnel Board shall establish rules and regulations that define excessive or abusive use.

(c) An employee who has accrued more than 15 days of sick leave as of November 30 of any year may, by written notification to the appointing authority by no later than December 31 of that year, convert up to three days of accrued sick leave in excess of 15 days to personal leave. Any personal leave not used by December 31 of the following year, or upon termination, shall be forfeited and not restored to the employee.

(d) Personal leave may be used by the employee for personal reasons the same as annual leave upon approval by the employee's appointing authority. The employee shall normally be required to provide the appointing authority with a 24 hour advance notice for use of personal leave. Every reasonable effort shall be made by the appointing authority to accommodate employees on their requests for use of personal leave.

(e) If the appointing authority disagrees with the claim of sickness or need to utilize sick leave made by the employee pursuant to subsection (d) of this Code section, the appointing authority may disapprove the use of such sick leave in accordance with the criteria established in the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board. The employee may contest the disapproval of the sick leave through the department's employee complaint procedure.

(f) The State Personnel Board shall adopt regulations to implement the provisions of this Code section. The leave regulations of the board in effect on July 1, 1991, and not in conflict with this Code section shall remain in effect until amended, changed, modified, or repealed by the board.