The NFL Referees Association has filed an unfair labor practice charge against the league with the National Labor Relations Board.
The complaint was filed Tuesday and alleges that since talks broke down this month the NFL twice sent letters to officials that "contained inaccurate, false and incomplete information" about the bargaining.
It says the league violated the National Labor Relations Act by bypassing the NFLRA and trying to "undermine" support among members.
"There is no merit to these claims," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said. "It is common for employers during collective bargaining to provide factual information to employees that has already been communicated to the union. That is all that was done here."
Negotiations between the NFL and the referees ended June 3 after two mediation attempts that followed nine bargaining sessions since October. The league has said it would start hiring and training replacement officials.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
