(a)
Permanent employees of the marshal’s office on the effective date of consolidation under this article shall be deemed qualified, and no other qualifications shall be required for employment or retention. Probationary employees of the marshal’s office on the effective date of a consolidation under this article shall retain their probationary status and rights, and shall not be deemed to have transferred so as to require serving a new probationary period.
(b)
County service of employees of the marshal’s office on the effective date of the consolidation under this article shall be counted toward seniority in the consolidated office, and all time spent in the same, equivalent, or higher classification shall be counted toward classification seniority.
(c)
No provision of this section shall be deemed to restrict the authority of the sheriff to discipline any employee in accordance with county personnel policies, and memoranda of understanding, or rules, regulations, and procedures otherwise applicable, and except as otherwise expressly provided in this section, the discretion of the sheriff to assign, promote, direct, and control employees formerly assigned to the marshal’s office shall not be deemed in any manner restricted by virtue of the abolition or consolidation.
(d)
This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2018, and as of that date is repealed unless a later enacted statute, which is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends that date. The repeal of this section does not affect any right or benefit to which a person was entitled on the date of repeal.