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Former Rikers Island correction officer fighting to get job back after allegedly being shot in face by jail boss husband, then fired
BY CHELSIA ROSE MARCIUS , RICH SCHAPIRO
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Friday, April 24, 2015, 2:30 PM

SUSAN WATTS/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Janine Howard, here with Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association head Norman Seabrook, is suing the Correction Department to get her job back.

First she was shot in the face — allegedly by her jail boss husband. Then she was fired from her job as a Rikers Island correction officer.
Now Janine Howard, 40, is fighting to get back on the Correction Department payroll.
“I feel victimized,” the Long Island mother said Friday in her first interview. “I feel my safety, security can just be taken from me at any time.”
Howard’s nightmarish ordeal began on Dec. 2013 when she was shot by Rikers Island Capt. Brian Martin, 37, during an argument inside their Roosevelt home, prosecutors say.
Martin has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder charges.
The shooting left Howard with shattered bones in her face and a bullet fragment in her neck.

SUSAN WATTS/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Howard was shot in the face by husband and jail boss Brian Martin, and then just a year later was fired with no reason being given.

But what came afterward was almost as painful, Howard says.
A Rikers Island supervisor showed up at her house without warning on Dec. 23, 2014 — and told her she was being fired. No reason was given, Howard said.
At the time, Howard was out sick and on restrictive hours.
“I had a small child,” added Howard who has a five-year-old daughter from a prior relationship. “I thought it was a good career. The job is difficult but I thought I could do it.”
Howard is suing the Correction Department to get her job back — an action that was initiated by Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association head Norman Seabrook.

SUSAN WATTS/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Howard, 40, said that she “felt victimized” by the Correction Department, as they let her go without ever giving her a reason.

“I feel my safety, security can just be taken from me at any time.”

“Miss Howard is a victim of a horrendous crime,” said her lawyer Mercedes Maldonado.
“Norman Seabrook and the Correction Officers Benevolent Association executive board instructed me to bring this litigation, get her job back, and that’s what we intend to do.”
Seabrook said Howard has been victimized twice.
“For this man to think that he can abuse her, attempt to murder her … is unacceptable,” Seabrook added.
“For the Department of Correction to turn around and terminate her services the day after she was supposed to be off probation sends a very clear message that they don’t seem to have feelings of caring about their employees.”
The Correction Department did not immediately return a request for comment.

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The team of lawyers from the law office of Isaacs, Devasia, Castro & Wien LLP joined coordinators at Mantena Global Care and participants during the lecture on insurance, in Newark (NJ). The office of Isaacs, Devasia, Castro & Wien LLP has served the Portuguese-speaking community for more than 20 years

On Saturday afternoon of April 11th, attorney Barry Washor, who is Of Counsel at Koehler & Isaacs LLP, with a branch office located at 26 Ferry Street in the Ironbound neighborhood of Newark, held a free legal seminar on the importance of acquiring an insurance policy, particularly for automobile drivers in New Jersey. The free public event took place at Mantena Global Care’s headquarters, located at 294 Ferry Street. Barry, accompanied by lawyer Cynthia Devasia, who is also the Practice Manager in Newark, addressed the issue of under insurance and answered many questions posed by participants at the seminar.

The lawyers at Isaacs, Devasia, Castro & Wien LLP have been serving the Portuguese-speaking community in metropolitan New York and New Jersey for more than 20 years.

Barry Washor, an expert in personal injury, medical malpractice, and professional negligence work discussed the following topic: “When an uninsured motorist is involved in an accident, the lack of coverage can cause hardship for the uninsured driver, and also for any other persons who suffer an injury as a result of the uninsured driver’s negligence.”

The lawyer stressed that, regardless of one’s immigration status in the US, all workers have rights because the country signed a treaty with Brazil guaranteeing certain labor protections. He usually retains cases involving industrial accidents between 2-3 years, so it is necessary that victims seek their rights with an attorney as soon as possible.

Barry also noted that all car owners in the Garden State are required to have car insurance and the minimum sum insured is $15,000, determined by state law. However, drivers can purchase “under insurance” which costs $25 every 6 months and covers up to $500,000.

The lawyer stressed that companies must, by law, offer it to customers, but many do not.

Ailton de Souza, Client Relations Manager at Isaacs, Devasia, Castro & Wien LLP, said that the office plans to hold a series of lectures, as needed for the community.

The best-known type of insurance is for automobiles which is required by law. While many people obtain car insurance only because the law demands and because they are willing to pay only the bare minimum, there are also others who want a wide range of coverage in order to protect any damages that happen to the vehicle.

Currently, you can find insurance at a lower price than those that existed years ago. With the advent of new technologies, it is very easy to purchase insurance online and obtain the required coverage with a simple click, which allows insurers to reduce costs and therefore the premiums are more affordable.

Another type of insurance that is booming is health insurance, which allows you to receive medical care at prices below those in the private health sector. One’s health is priceless and this is a type of insurance that makes a trip to the doctor, or the length of waiting for an operation, faster and less painful than the endless queues and waiting lists that exist at most hospital’s emergency rooms.

Although this insurance is considered to be very expensive by many people, the truth is that, if necessary, it can significantly help to reduce the hardships of a potentially very difficult financial situation.

For those who have small children, there is liability insurance available for very inexpensive prices. For those going on vacation or who travel frequently, travel insurance is a great safety net and a way that can cover you from lost or stolen property.

For those who want to protect their homes, home insurance helps ensure the value of the property’s assets. There are even dental plans, group life insurance and pension plans.

For more information about this event, please contact Ailton Souza, Client Relations Manager, telephone: (862) 240-1900 or visit the Isaacs, Devasia, Castro & Wien LLP website: www.seudireitousa.com.

By Carl Campanile
Posted: December 5, 2014
NY Post

The union representing the city’s correction officers has quietly filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, claiming ObamaCare will bankrupt its health-care fund, The Post has learned.

The Correction Officers Benevolent Association maintains a supplemental medical fund for members that sets a $10,000 annual cap per family on prescription-drug benefits. The fund also provides optical and dental benefits.

But the new federal heath-care law bars the union from imposing annual limits on drug purchases — in essence, making the Affordable Care Act unaffordable, the lawsuit alleges.

“ObamaCare will bankrupt us,” said COBA President Norman Seabrook.

The lawsuit, which lists President Obama and other federal officials as defendants, said the lifting of the cap has resulted in “skyrocketing costs.”

The union estimated that two dozen members exceeded the previously imposed $10,000 cap and two participants were running up prescription bills of more than $50,000 each.

The union said in the June suit that the cap — coupled with 30 percent co-payments and mandatory use of generic drugs — was put in place to control costs and keep the fund solvent.

The city is the main source of funding — kicking in $1,780 per member.

COBA complained that its petition to the Obama administration seeking an exemption “fell on deaf ears” — hence, the lawsuit.

The suit, before Judge Shira Scheindlin, claims ObamaCare is anti-union and unconstitutional.

“The regulators’ refusal to grant the requested exemption violates the equal-protection and free-association rights of union members and their dependents,” COBA lawyer Howard Wien claimed.

“The only reason they are threatened with the loss of their prescription-drug coverage is their association with a labor union and one another.”

The COBA suit said the health-law edict leaves difficult choices: shut down the fund, severely limit benefits — or put all its money into saving the fund at the expense of ­officers’ wages and retirement benefits.

COBA appears to have gotten the attention of Obama health officials.

In a Nov. 21 court filing, the federal defendants requested a four-month stay to examine whether they can exempt COBA from the cost rule and potentially settle the case.

“The administrative-assessment process might ultimately obviate the need for this litigation to continue,” said Assistant Manhattan US Attorney Rebec­ca Tinio, responding on behalf of the administration.