The following is a reprint from "THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER"
Federal Court Awards Damages to Man Fired from Library Job

Metropolitan Area News in Brief

A federal court jury yesterday awarded $72,500 in damages to an Oxford Circle man who said he was fired as an assistant at the Free Library's Northeast Regional branch after he was summoned for jury duty.

The U.S. District Court jury awarded William Marquess $25,000 in back pay and $47,000 in damages for emotional pain and suffering. Deputy City Solicitor Michael Holmes, who represented the city and Free Library, could not be reached for comment.

Mark S. Scheffer, Marquess' attorney, said Marquess was hired in March 1997 as a library assistant and was still on probation when summoned for jury duty beginning July 7. When Marquess told his supervisor, Scheffer, said, she said the library was short-staffed and threatened to fire him if he reported for jury duty instead of work.

Scheffer said Marquess served four days as a Philadelphia Common Pleas juror. After returning to work, Scheffer said, Marquess was given poor evaluations and then fired. Library officials said Marquess was fired because he had not met the standards of the job.