Members of the Defined Benefit Program and participants of the Cash Balance Benefit Program, who are either elected to the board or appointed to the board by the Governor pursuant to Section 22200, or who are appointed by the board to serve on a committee or subcommittee of the board or a panel of the system, shall be granted, by his or her employer, sufficient time away from regular duties, without loss of compensation or other benefits to which the person is entitled by reason of employment, to attend meetings of the board or any of its committees or subcommittees of which the person is a member, or to serve as a member of a panel of the system, and to attend to the duties expected to be performed by the person.