Jefferson County v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission

Jefferson County appeals from a judgment affirming a decision of the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission. The commission ruled that the County committed a prohibited practice under the Municipal Employment Relations Act (MERA) when it refused to apply the "contingency pay" provisions of its existing pay plan applicable to nonrepresented employees during initial contract negotiations with several recently created bargaining units. The issue is whether the commission erred in holding that, by so doing, the County impermissibly altered the status quo with respect to employee wages, hours…