Whenever a district acquires existing facilities from a public utility, whether by proceedings in eminent domain or otherwise, any officer or employee of the public utility who left a permanent position with such utility pertaining principally to the facilities acquired in order to perform training and service under the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 shall be entitled to be appointed to a position with permanent status in the district’s civil service under the same conditions as would have governed his right to reinstatement with the public utility under Section 8 (b) of that act if the district had not acquired those facilities.
No civil service status acquired by other officers or employees of the district shall prevent their removal by layoff or transfer from positions to which reinstatement is provided for in this section.