In Re Hunterdon County Board of Chosen Freeholders

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

HANDLER, J.

In this case, a public employer, a county board of freeholders, unilaterally imposed and later terminated a safety incentive program that included the award of cash bonuses to county road crew employees based on safe performance. The employees, through their union, a designated representative, took the position that the county’s unilateral actions undertaken without meeting or negotiating with the union constituted unfair practices under the Employer-Employee Relations Act. The central question raised by this controversy and ensuing…