Sec. 11.1. (a) As used in this section, “appointing authority” means the sheriff and the board.

     (b) If it is necessary for the appointing authority to reduce the number of members of the department by layoff for financial reasons, the last member appointed to the department must be the first to be laid off. Additional members must be laid off in reverse hiring order until the desired level of employment is achieved.

     (c) If department membership is increased, the members of the department who have been laid off under this section must be reinstated before any new member is appointed to the department. The last member to be laid off from the department must be the first to be reinstated. Additional members must be reinstated in reverse of the order in which the members were laid off.

     (d) A member who is laid off shall keep the appointing authority advised of the member’s current address. The appointing authority shall inform a member of the member’s reinstatement by written notice sent by certified mail to the member’s last known address.

     (e) Not later than twenty (20) calendar days after the date notice of reinstatement is sent under subsection (d), the member must advise the appointing authority whether the member:

(1) accepts reinstatement; and

(2) will be able to commence employment on the date specified in the notice.

     (f) All reinstatement rights granted to a member under this section terminate on the earlier of:

(1) the date the member fails to accept reinstatement within the time specified in subsection (e); or

(2) five (5) years after the date on which a member’s layoff begins.

As added by P.L.270-1999, SEC.2. Amended by P.L.56-2010, SEC.2.