NORWICH — A former longtime employee at Tracy Hall is suing the town, alleging she was unfairly pushed out of her job by a hostile work environment because she was pointing out problems with how the office was operating under Town Clerk Lily Trajman.
Judy Trussell, who worked as assistant clerk in Norwich for about 15 years until last summer, filed a complaint in the Windsor Court Civil Division in December.
To remedy the situation, Trussell is seeking reinstatement to her position as assistant clerk, back pay and other compensatory damages, punitive damages, interest, costs and attorneys fees. Trussell is being represented by Norwich-based attorney Geoffrey Vitt.
In a court filing last week, the town, represented by Burlington-based attorney John Klesch, denied Trussell’s claims and asked that a jury trial be scheduled.
Among other claims, Trussell said she was fired after being unfairly blamed when ballots from a federal election that should have been preserved were mistakenly destroyed, according to the lawsuit.
Trajman used the ballot incident as a justification to revoke Trussell’s appointment as assistant clerk, the lawsuit stated. Assistant clerk appointment and revocation of appointment is determined by the elected clerk.
Trussell’s lawsuit also alleged that since becoming clerk, Trajman had violated several laws regarding confidentiality of records and election procedures, despite being warned by Trussell about the sensitivity of certain documents.
Trajman, who had no prior experience as a town clerk or in a similar position, was elected town clerk in an uncontested race in 2023. Trajman’s previous background was as a certified management consultant with a doctorate from MIT, as noted on the town website.
Before Trajman, former Town Clerk Bonnie Munday held the role for 30 years.
In 2012, Munday had petitioned the town to let voters decide on a $25,000 allocation so Trussell could work full time as assistant town clerk after seeing the value of her part-time efforts in the Tracy Hall office, the Valley News reported when Munday retired in 2023.
In the lawsuit, Trussell claimed that when Trajman took over, she frequently made remarks about their difference in education levels by routinely rejecting suggestions and advice from Trussell, who has a high school diploma, and instead replying, “I have a Ph.D.”
Trajman also refused to participate in more than four hours of training per week when she started the position despite being new to the office, the lawsuit asserts.
Mistreatment by Trajman in the workplace led to a worsening condition of anxiety and panic attacks for Trussell, the lawsuit stated.
Things culminated last June when Trajman ordered another town employee to remove old town meeting ballots from the records vault and destroy them. When the employee mistakenly discarded federal ballots which were by law meant to be preserved, blame was cast on Trussell despite Trajman being responsible for overseeing compliance with election laws, the complaint said.
In its response to the lawsuit, the town acknowledged that Trajman asked Trussell to coordinate with a custodian to remove and destroy old meeting ballots, and that federal ballots were destroyed despite being under a preservation requirement. However, according to the the town, Trajman determined it was Trussell who had failed to properly perform her job duties with regard to destruction of the ballots.
Trussell also advised Trajman not to report the situation to the Vermont Secretary of State, the town said in its response to the lawsuit.
Trussell claimed to have been terminated as a town employee by Trajman under false pretenses, with incorrect information put in her personnel file.
The lawsuit also included other specific allegations of Trajman mishandling confidential information in public records. In one instance, Trajman uploaded Norwich deeds and land records to a public database, despite warnings from Trussell that many of the records contain confidential information, such as social security numbers, that needed to be redacted. Trussell spent two months redacting the confidential details and re-releasing the records, according to the complaint.
In response, the town admitted only that Trajman uploaded those records and that Trussell had expressed concerns. Some records did contain social security numbers, according to the response.
The lawsuit claimed that Trajman was overly critical, treating Trussell with “condescension and disrespect on an almost daily basis,” according to the complaint, and such commentary caused Trussell to fear for her job, as Trajman was her direct superior.
Trussell is asking a Windsor Court to hold the town liable for not taking appropriate action regarding Trajman’s behavior at the time of her employment and termination.
In its response, the town stated that Trajman’s criticism of Trussell was due to a lack of reporting and transparency about her day-to-day tasks, performance of tasks she was advised not to perform and failure to become proficient in the use of electronic devices.
The complaint states that Trussell suffers from anxiety and panic attacks, requiring accommodations, such as opportunities to step outside, and accused Trajman of having invaded her working space unnecessarily and berating her in front of others.
Trussell claimed that she was terminated as a result of her complaints against Trajman because there was not a legitimate, non-retaliatory reason for it. The lawsuit alleged the town violated the Vermont Fair Practices Act because Trussell has a disability and feels she was discriminated against because of it. The lawsuit also claimed the town failed to accommodate her or take action when she informed her employer that Trajman was exacerbating her disability.
The lawsuit was first reported by the Norwich Observer, a local blog, earlier this month.
Town Manager Brennan Duffy declined to comment on the pending litigation.
“The Vermont League of Cities and Towns Property and Casualty Intermunicipal Fund is paying for defense of the lawsuit,” Duffy said Friday by email.
Despite not being listed as a defendant in the case, Trajman has her own attorney, Brian Monaghan, who is based in Burlington.
“As far as I’m aware, nothing has been filed individually,” Trajman said Friday by phone.
She declined to discuss Trussell’s claims.
Upon Trussell’s termination, Trajman appointed Megan Anderson to fill in on an interim basis starting in July, then decided to hire her on a permanent basis the following month, Trajman said on Friday.