St. Johnsbury’s former town manager is suing the town claiming he was unlawfully fired after just a week on the job.
Mark Shea, of Winchester, Mass., filed a wrongful termination lawsuit Friday seeking reinstatement as town manager and monetary damages.
Shea’s attorney, Stephen Ellis, says the Board of Selectmen’s March 11 vote to rescind his appointment wasn’t legal. Ellis says Vermont law requires cause to fire a town manager, which he says can’t be accomplished by rescinding an appointment.
But a town attorney told the Caledonian Record that Shea was never hired in the first place and that there’s no contract to support his contention.
In a separate lawsuit, former town manager Ralph Nelson is also suing St. Johnsbury for wrongful termination. He was let go a year ago.