On unification of the municipal and superior courts in a county, until adoption of a statewide structure for trial court employees, officers, and other personnel by the Legislature:
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law contained in this title, upon unification, previously selected officers, employees, and other personnel who serve the courts shall become the officers, employees, and other personnel of the unified superior court at their existing or equivalent classifications, and with their existing salaries, economic and noneconomic benefits and other existing terms and conditions of employment that include, but are not limited to, accrued and unused vacation, sick leave, personal leave, health and pension plans, civil service or merit system coverage, and other systems that provide similar employment protections. The status, position, and rights of such persons shall not be affected by the unification and shall be retained by them as officers, employees, and other personnel of the unified superior court. This provision shall be retroactive to the date of unification and shall supersede any other provision of law governing at-will employment or exemption from civil service coverage applicable to these employees. It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that officers, employees, and other personnel of the superior court do not lose employment protections to which they were entitled when unification took effect as a result of unification.
(b) Permanent employees of the municipal and superior courts on the effective date of unification shall be deemed qualified, and no other qualifications shall be required for employment or retention. Probationary employees on the effective date of unification shall retain their probationary status and rights, and shall not be deemed to have transferred so as to require serving a new probationary period.
(c) Employment seniority of an employee of the municipal or superior courts on the effective date of unification shall be counted toward seniority in the unified superior court, and all time spent in the same, equivalent, or higher classification shall be counted toward classification seniority.
(d) No officer or employee with peace officer status shall lose that status as a result of unification, and any officer or employee authorized to perform notice and process services or court security services in the municipal court is authorized to perform those services in the unified superior court.
(Amended by Stats. 1999, Ch. 891, Sec. 10.5. Effective January 1, 2000.)