Dear COBA Members;

In July of 2020, the Union learned that dozens of active and retired COBA Members were adversely affected when the County failed to timely seek overpayment of Federal FICA 207-c taxes from the IRS for tax years 2008 and 2009.

Once we investigated the case, COBA 4th Vice President Dennis Maurus and Union Counsel Liam L. Castro contacted those affected active and retired COBA Members individually to obtain their consent to file a Notice of Claim in State Supreme Court on their behalf. The claim was eventually filed in October of 2020. In the summer of 2021, the Union engaged in numerous conversations with the County concerning this case in which the County eventually agreed to pay 100% of the damages owed, which meant full reimbursement to the affected individuals.

Dennis Maurus and Liam L. Castro then sent individual settlement agreements to the dozens of effected individuals, which were then compiled by the Union then returned to the County for processing in October of 2021. These agreements were then signed off by the County on December 23, 2021. The union is pleased to announce that on February 28, 2022, the Nassau County Legislature passed a Resolution submitted by 4th VP Dennis Maurus and COBA Legislative Liaison, 1st VP Pat McDevitt, approving payment on those settlement agreements for those Active and Retired COBA Members for 100% of their damages, totaling over $260,000. Some are owed a few hundred dollars, other will be receiving thousands of dollars in damages. We will keep everyone updated once we are notified the payments are processed through the Nassau County Comptrollers Office.

I would like to commend 4th Vice President Dennis Maurus and Labor Counsel Liam Castro for their hard work and tireless effort with this case which returned hard earned wages back to almost 100 current and retired COBA Members.

Always in Unity;

Brian Sullivan, COBA President