Transfer of employees of participating political subdivisions; retention of rank, grade and benefits; duties

1. Employees of the respective law enforcement agencies of the participating political subdivisions, who are so employed at the time of merger, may obtain employment with the department and shall hold positions of rank and grade comparable to their positions prior to merger. 2. Such employees, sworn or civilian, are entitled to suffer no loss in pay, pension, fringe benefits or other job benefits by reason of a merger. 3. Sick leave, longevity and vacation time accrued to such employees in the service of their respective law enforcement agencies shall be credited to them as employees of the department. All rights and accruals of such employees as members of the Public Employees’ Retirement System pursuant to the Public Employees’ Retirement Act shall remain in force and shall be automatically transferred from the respective law enforcement agencies to the department. 4. The duties and responsibilities of such employees shall not be diminished by reason of the merger, but their area and division of assignment may be changed at the discretion of the sheriff of the department or his or her designated administrative representative. 5. Upon merger, the most liberal employee benefits which have been negotiated by the respective employee organizations of the law enforcement agencies of the participating political subdivisions shall be the benefits applicable to the employees of the department.