Virginia Stewart v. Town of Watertown

Summary

The court held that a town clerk does not have an absolute right to receive salary while failing to perform the duties of the office. Whether Stewart’s nonperformance was unjustified or excused by unhealthy working conditions and the town’s failure to provide a reasonable alternative worksite presented genuine issues of material fact, requiring reversal of the partial summary judgment and remand on the salary claims. The court affirmed the judgment for the defendants on Stewart’s due process claim because the requested jury instructions concerned issues irrelevant to whether she received notice and an opportunity to be heard.