Norwich — In light of a 2015 Vermont Supreme Court decision lending job security to town managers, Norwich’s contract with its interim town manager, which does not include those protections, might be treading on untested legal ground.

The Selectboard’s agreement with David Ormiston, dated June 6, says he may be fired with 30 days’ notice and “without cause,” even though the state’s highest court last year ruled that a legitimate reason is required to dismiss a town manager.

The case, Nelson v. Town of St. Johnsbury, was brought by that town’s ex-manager, Ralph Nelson, whose Selectboard in 2012 fired him without giving a public reason. The Vermont Supreme Court ruled that Nelson, who did not have a contract, had been a “for-cause” employee.

Lawyers and legal experts are still trying to decipher the nuances of that decision: Does it mean that all town managers enjoy this protection? Or only those who, like Nelson, work without a contract?

“I think what you’ve got is legal professionals reading it and trying to interpret what it means,” Joan Vogel, a Vermont Law School professor specializing in employment law, said in a Tuesday interview.

“Management will always read a case as narrowly as they can,” she said. “Employees will always read it as broadly as they can. … No one is challenging (the contract) at this point, but we will see what happens if (Ormiston) changes his mind.”

Soon after the 2015 ruling, Steve Jeffrey, who was then executive director of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, said the “jury is still out” as to whether a contract could supersede the “for-cause” protections the decision afforded. Case law did not give a clear answer, he said.

On Tuesday, his replacement, Maura Carroll, declined to give VLCT’s current position on the matter, saying doing so would be tantamount to “issuing a legal opinion about what’s happening in Norwich.”

Norwich officials are operating on the advice of their attorneys, including Burlington-based John Klesch, who last year told the Selectboard that a town manager could, in fact, negotiate away the protection afforded by the Vermont Supreme Court.

The board had sought Klesch’s opinion as to whether the town manager at the time, Neil Fulton, was a “for-cause” employee (he was, Klesch said). Fulton, who is married to a prominent municipal lawyer, had maintained that contracts do not take precedence over the St. Johnsbury decision.

Selectboard Chairwoman Linda Cook on Tuesday said Ormiston’s contract had been reviewed by the town’s counsel, Frank Olmstead. She declined to explain the legal reasoning behind the agreement, saying she did not have access to her correspondence with Olmstead.

Selectman Christopher Ashley offered his support for the measure, noting that Ormiston’s term as interim town manager would be, by definition, temporary.

“My understanding of that language, which both the Selectboard and the town attorney and Dave agreed to, is that because he is an interim town manager, it isn’t considered to be an ongoing position in any case,” he said.

Ormiston, for his part, said his contract helped give the town more flexibility, should it want to appoint a permanent manager before his contract expires at the end of January.

“It would be erroneous of the town to bring in an interim person and then they can’t get rid of the guy because they don’t have just cause,” Ormiston said in an interview on Tuesday.

Rob Wolfe can be reached at rwolfe@vnews.com or 603-727-3242.