(a) The employee with the most seniority points shall be the first employee to be reinstated in the class from which the employee was laid off or from which the employee was separated under § 11-302 of this title or to any lower class in the same job series within the principal department or other independent unit in which the layoff or separation under § 11-302 of this title occurred.
(b) Reinstatement to a comparable class to which the Secretary has certified employees who were laid-off or who were separated under § 11-302 of this title shall be made from among the five laid-off or separated employees with the most seniority points who are certified to the class.