Unions say they have reached a tentative settlement with Nassau, which would lift the wage freeze going forward with the specific guidelines that the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority laid out earlier this week.

Nassau union workers have been calling on the county to end a wage freeze for three years.

Nassau PBA President James Carver says the deal provides the county with "substantial savings going forward and it provides our members, and even the new members, some stability going through the end of 2017."

As News 12 has reported, Nassau's financial control board voted Monday to extend the wage freeze, while outlining conditions the county and unions could meet to lift it.

Under the deal, the potential for wages to be frozen from 2015 to 2017 is off the table. This happened just as a state judge issued a ruling declaring that NIFA had the authority to suspend salary increases for county workers from 2011 to 2013. Carver says the union is considering an appeal.

"It's far from over. I still feel we're on the right side of this issue," said Carver.

NIFA chairman Jon Kaiman says the deal would save the county hundreds of millions of dollars in overtime costs and health benefits.

The tentative deal still needs to be ratified by the membership and the Legislature, and then approved by NIFA.