Ferdinand Fernandez, president of Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local 286, was terminated from his position as a Passaic County, New Jersey, Sheriff’s Officer on or about May 23, 2025. The termination followed his suspension for “a Disorderly Persons Offense” arising from a 2023 motor vehicle accident.
Days after the termination, the County’s labor counsel sent a letter to the PBA stating it “refuses to recognize and otherwise communicate with Fernandez regarding Union, personnel, and/or other County business, as his employment with the County has terminated.” The letter designated the decision as “interim” pending a review of PBA bylaws.
Fernandez certified that his subsequent attempts to contact County Sheriff Adamo regarding contractual and health insurance matters for unit members went unanswered. On June 13, 2025, the County proposed a memorandum of agreement that would have severely restricted Fernandez’s role, limiting his meetings with unit members on county property to once per week and banning him from collective bargaining unit presidents’ meetings with the Sheriff.
The PBA filed an unfair labor practice charge and an application for interim relief, alleging that the County violated the New Jersey Employer-Employee Relations Act by refusing to communicate with its duly elected president and restricting his access.
A New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission Designee granted the PBA’s application for interim relief. The Designee found that the PBA had demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on its claims that the County violated the Act by interfering with union rights and refusing to negotiate in good faith.
The Designee held that an employer cannot refuse to recognize or negotiate with a duly elected union official without a legitimate and substantial business justification, even after that official’s termination from employment. The County failed to articulate any such justification for its blanket refusal to communicate with Fernandez or for banning him from public, non-restricted areas of county property.
The Designee also found that the restrictions irreparably harmed the PBA’s ability to represent its members, while the County would not suffer substantial harm from being required to communicate with the PBA president or allow him access to public areas for union business.
Accordingly, the Designee restrained the County from refusing to engage in communications with Fernandez on union matters and from imposing limitations on his ability to represent members, including banning him from public areas of county property for union business.
Passaic County Sheriff, 52 NJPER ¶ 15 (NJ PERC 2025).