Section 45. Status of employees upon acquisition of private institution or enterprise by government

1. Whenever the state or any civil division or  public agency shall acquire a private institution or enterprise, for the
  purpose of operating it as a public function, such  civil  division,  or
  public  agency,  as  the case may be, may continue the employment of all
  officers or employees thereof deemed necessary, who shall have  been  in
  the  employ  of  such private institution or enterprise for at least one
  year prior to such acquisition. The positions so held by such  employees
  shall  be  in  the  non-competitive class, pending the classification or
  reclassification of such positions as  hereinafter  directed,  and  such
  employees  shall  continue  to  be  employed in similar or corresponding
  positions and shall have the seniority theretofore held by them as among
  themselves. The state civil service department or  municipal  commission
  having  jurisdiction, however, after notice to any such employee, of the
  reasons therefor, and after  according  such  employee  a  hearing,  may
  exclude  him  from  further  employment  if  found by such department or
  municipal  commission  not  to  be   a   person   of   good   character.
  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  this  section,  no person shall be
  continued in employment in a  position  classified  in  the  competitive
  class  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of this subdivision unless he is a
  citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for  permanent  residence  in  the
  United States.
    2.  Not  later  than  one  year  after the acquisition of such private
  institution  or  enterprise,  the  state  or  municipal  civil   service
  commission  having  jurisdiction  shall determine for which positions or
  class of positions competitive examinations are  practicable  and  shall
  adopt  rules  classifying  and  reclassifying the various positions. The
  then incumbents of such positions who are employed therein at  the  time
  of the acquisition of the private institution or enterprise and who were
  so  employed  for  at  least  one  year  prior to such acquisition shall
  continue to hold their positions without further examination  and  shall
  have  all the rights and privileges of the jurisdictional class to which
  such positions may be  allocated;  provided,  however  that  after  such
  acquisition all new positions thereafter created and vacancies occurring
  in  positions already established shall be filled in accordance with the
  provisions of this chapter and the rules adopted thereunder.