Section 259.119 - Election by employees to transfer to authority; requirements(1) For employees who elect to transfer to the authority under subsection (2) and who are covered by the terms of a collective bargaining agreement with the local government that owns an airport over which operational jurisdiction will be transferred, the authority shall assume and be bound by those existing collective bargaining agreements for the remainder of the term of the agreement. A representative of the employees or a group of employees in the local government who represents or is entitled to represent the employees or a group of employees of the local government, pursuant to 1947 PA 336, MCL 423.201 to 423.217, shall continue to represent the employees or group of employees after the employees transfer to the authority and the authority shall honor all obligations of a public sector employer after the expiration of any collective bargaining agreement with respect to transferring employees.(2) Local government employees employed at an airport from which operational jurisdiction will be transferred to an authority may agree to transfer to the employment of the authority on or before a date established by the authority. The date established by the authority shall not be later than the approval date. Local government employees, who do not agree to transfer to the employment of the authority, shall be reassigned within the local government. The local government shall not, as a result of the creation or incorporation of an authority for a period of not more than 1 year, layoff or reduce the pay or benefits of any employee of the local government into whose position a local government employee who was previously employed at the airport is reassigned. The authority shall consider any person hired by the authority to fill a position that had been previously filled with a local government employee who did not agree to transfer to the employment of the authority to be under the collective bargaining agreement covering, and to be represented by the collective bargaining representative of, the local government employee who did not agree to transfer to the authority. The authority shall accept the transfers without a break in employment, subject to all rights and benefits held by the transferring employees under a collective bargaining agreement. Transferring employees shall not be placed in a worse position by reason of the transfer for a period of 1 year after the approval date, or any longer period as may be required in connection with the assumption of any applicable collective bargaining agreement, with respect to wages, workers' compensation, pension, seniority, sick leave, vacation, or health and welfare insurance or any other term and condition of employment that a transferring employee may have under a collective bargaining agreement that the employee received as an employee of the local government. The rights and benefits protected by this subsection may be altered by a future collective bargaining agreement except that any employee who as of the effective date of this chapter has the right, by contract or statute, to submit any unresolved disputes to the procedures set forth in 1969 PA 312, MCL 423.231 to 423.247, shall continue to have that right, or, for employees not covered by collective bargaining agreements, by benefit plans as established and adopted by the authority. Employees who elect to transfer shall not by reason of the transfer have their accrued local government pension benefits or credits diminished. If a transferring employee is not vested in his or her local government pension rights at the time of transfer, his or her post-transfer service with the authority shall be credited toward vesting in any local government retirement system in which the transferring employee participated prior to the transfer, but the post-transfer service with the authority shall not be credited for any other purpose under the local government's retirement system, except as provided in subsections (3) and (4). An employee who elects to transfer to the authority may, upon return to employment with the local government within 1 year from the approval date, do so without loss of seniority unless contrary to a collective bargaining agreement. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a political appointee, other than a member of the board appointed under section 111, at an airport previously operated by the local government from which operational authority has been transferred to an authority shall not be placed in a worse position in regards to terms and conditions of employment until December 31 of the year in which the authority is created.(3) If a local government employee described in this section elects to transfer to an authority or if a person is hired by the authority as a new employee after the date on which the authority assumes operational jurisdiction over an airport, the employee shall remain or become a participant in the local government retirement system until the authority has established its own retirement system or pension plan. During this period the employee remains or is a participant in the local government system, the employee's post-transfer service with the authority during this period and his or her post-transfer compensation from the authority during this period shall be counted in determining both eligibility for and the amount of pension benefits that the employee will be eligible to receive from the local government system or plan.(4) If a local government employee described in this section elects to transfer to the authority, then the transferred employee may elect to remain a participant in the local government retirement system in lieu of participation in any retirement system or pension plan of the authority. By electing to remain a participant in the local government system, the employee's post-transfer service with the authority and his or her post-transfer compensation from the authority shall be counted in determining both eligibility for and the amount of pension benefits that the employee will be eligible to receive from the local government system or plan. Any election to remain in a local government system or plan shall be made within 60 days following the date the authority has established its own retirement system or pension plan and shall be irrevocable. Employees eligible to make the election described in this subsection shall be those employees who immediately before their transfer date were participating in the local government system and who agree to make any employee contributions required for continuing participation in the local government system and also agree to meet all requirements and be subject to all conditions which, from time to time, apply to employees of the local government who participate in the local government system.(5) For each employee meeting the requirements of subsection (4) who elects to remain a participant in the local retirement system, the authority shall, on a timely basis, contribute the following amounts, as applicable, to the trustees of that retirement system: (a) An amount determined by the local government system's actuary toward amortization of unfunded actuarial accrued liabilities which, as of the transfer date, are reasonably allocated to that employee on the local government system's records.(b) An amount determined by the local government system's actuary sufficient to fund the liability for all of that employee's retirement and other benefits under the system on a current basis, as those liabilities are accrued on and after the transfer date.(c) An amount determined by the local government system's actuary equal to all actuarial losses net of actuarial gains, costs, and administrative expenses of the system which are reasonably allocated to the employee.(d) An amount equal to the percentage of compensation that the local government would have contributed for the employee had he or she remained in the employ of the local government.(e) An amount corresponding to what the local government would have contributed toward retiree health coverage for the employee. However, the authority shall succeed to all rights of the local government to modify, amend, replace, suspend, or discontinue the retiree health coverage being provided to the persons who retire from authority employment.Add. 2002, Act 90, Imd. Eff. 3/26/2002.