The National Labor Relations Board has issued a complaint against Southcoast Health Group on behalf of 142 unionized nurses at Tobey Hospital, after Southcoast halted contract negotiations and imposed a contract opposed by the union.

The nurses, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, say Tobey parent company Southcoast Health “bargained in bad faith,” in violation of federal labor law. The contract imposed in April contains a wage freeze for the second year in a row as well as other “give backs.”

The complaint means the NLRB sees “sufficient evidence to go to a hearing, and that there have been violations,” according to regional NLRB attorney Laura Sacks.

A statement issued by Southcoast spokesman Peter Cohenno denied any wrongdoing, and said, “We look forward to the hearing so we can demonstrate that we have acted in good faith throughout negotiations.”

The complaint is the latest development in an acrimonious contract dispute with the nurses. Associate director of media relations at the Massachusetts Nurses Association Jennifer Johnson said Southcoast halted negotiations and issued a regressive final offer on April 15, after the eighth meeting between Southcoast and Tobey nurses. The offer consists of a wage freeze on nurses for the second year in a row, along with the loss of two paid holidays, and a loss of a 3 percent core contribution to Tobey nurses’ 401k plans.

According to the union's press release, “the proposal violated a key ground rule both parties had previously agreed to, which stated that neither party could submit any new proposals after Dec. 17, 2014.”

“Now, not only does [Southcoast] implement what they want, but nurses can no longer sit down with them to talk about other issues,” Johnson said. “By issuing this complaint, the NLRB believes that [Southcoast] did not wait enough time, and agrees with the nurses."

Southcoast received notification of the complaint on Aug. 3, and has until Aug. 14 to respond to the complaint.

A statement issued by Southcoast spokesperson Peter Cohenno said "the fact that the NLRB has recognized this complaint by MNA is a common occurrence in these situations."

"There has been no finding of any kind that Southcoast has done anything inappropriate or wrong," the statement read.

But Sacks disagrees, saying that "more often than not, cases do not go to complaint."

"It is part of the process, but [Southcoast] would much rather have had us dismiss the case, and not proceed," Sacks said.

This is the second contract dispute between Southcoast and Tobey employees this year, after a group of 50 Tobey employees protested against the group in June. The June dispute concerned service, clerical, and technical employees' wages.

If Southcoast’s contract proposal is upheld, it will be the second year Tobey nurse Maddi Jezierski will not get a raise.

“I got [a wage freeze] last year, and they froze me this year,” Jezierski said. “It would be great if the economy froze, too. … They just increased our health insurance, too, so, with the wage freeze, I actually took a pay cut this year of 3.5 percent.”

Jezierski said she has worked for Southcoast Health Group for 28 years, doing a 19-year stint at St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford, and nine years at Tobey Hospital.

Sacks said the hearing has been scheduled for Oct. 26, in Providence, at which the NLRB will make a final decision.

If the Board rules with the nurses against Southcoast, the group will have to unfreeze the nurses' wages, and reinstate the contract parameters in place prior to its final offer made on April 15.