(a) Right of return.--If there is a vacancy with the same appointing authority, an employee who has been granted a leave of absence at the discretion of an appointing authority shall, upon expiration of the leave of absence, have the right of return to any of the following:
(1) the class and civil service status from which leave was granted;
(2) a class and civil service status that the employee previously held, if the class is contained in the current class plan of the agency; or
(3) a class and civil service status in the same or lower grade, if the employee meets the minimum qualifications given in the classification plan of the agency.
(b) No vacancy upon return.--If there is no vacancy to which the employee on leave can be returned, the employee shall retain priority of return to the class from which the leave of absence was granted for a period of one year following the date of expiration of the leave, and, during that time period, the employee shall have precedence for employment over employees furloughed from the same class.