The town of Jaffrey has settled out of court with a former library employee who sued the town after being fired in 2017.
The settlement awards Marilyn Simons a total of $40,000.
Simons, a resident of Jaffrey, had been an employee of the Jaffrey Public Library for 40 years when she was fired by the Library Trustees. She protested that decision, and in a public hearing, the Library Trustees alleged she had been fired for poor job performance and multiple errors on the job, including rudeness to patrons, deleting emails from the library inbox, doing work for her second job while on the clock at the Library, and other issues. Simons maintained the Library Trustees wanted to end her employment because her long tenure at the library had led to a high salary and benefits package, and they wanted someone younger in the position.
Simons pursued a lawsuit against the town, alleging among other things that she was subjected to discrimination in the workplace, which the town settled out-of-court in December.
As part of the agreement, Jaffrey’s insurance company paid out a total of $40,000 to Simons. Of that, $12,272 is for alleged compensatory damages, $12,272 for back pay, and $15,455 for her attorney’s fees.
In addition to the monetary settlement, the Library Trustees also agreed to issue a statement relating to Simons’ employment with the town.
“The Jaffrey Public Library recognizes Marilyn Simons for her 40 years of service to the Library. During her tenure, Marilyn founded and led Adult Book Club and obtained interlibrary loans for patrons of all ages. During Marilyn’s four decades of service, generations of Library patrons benefited from her knowledge of the Library’s collections and her reference work,” the statement reads. “The Board of Trustees congratulates Marilyn on recently earning her Masters of Library Science degree and wishes her success in her new position as Assistant Library Director at another library. If you see Marilyn, please thank her for her many years of dedication and commitment to the Jaffrey Public Library.”
In an email to the Ledger-Transcript. Simons said she was satisfied with the resolution of the matter.
“I am glad that the Jaffrey Public Library Trustees and the Town of Jaffrey have recognized my 40 years of service to the Town and its Citizens,” Simons wrote. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people of Jaffrey, other people in the area, and all my friends for the outpouring of emotional support I have had from them over the last two and a half years.”
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.