Turku director surprised by deputy ombudsman’s ruling on speech violation

The Director of Urban Planning in Turku, Jyrki Lappi, expressed surprise regarding the decision made by the Deputy Ombudsman, which stated that he violated an employee’s freedom of speech. Lappi issued a written warning to a city traffic engineer who last spring criticized the West Rail project, formerly known as the Turku Hour Train, by posting on social media platform X: “A blog worth reading. The Hour Train should not be built.” The employee then filed a complaint about the warning with the Deputy Ombudsman.

“The decision was somewhat surprising, but it is essential that this matter has now been clarified on a general level,” Lappi remarked about the ruling. The employee had received prior reprimands for their social media activity.

In his statement to the Deputy Ombudsman, Lappi justified the written warning by asserting that the employee has a loyalty obligation to promote the goals set by the city due to their position, as the West Rail project is one of Turku’s key initiatives. It was noted that the city had previously addressed the employee’s social media postings.

“I certainly made an error in judgment there to some extent,” Lappi later reflected regarding the written warning.

According to Turku’s social media guidelines, employees are entitled to express their opinions online. Discussions grounded in facts about employer-related topics are permissible, but employees must be mindful of their role in shaping the employer’s public image. The Deputy Ombudsman found the traffic engineer’s post to be appropriately toned and factual, concluding that it did not clearly harm the city of Turku. Lappi acknowledged that differentiating between an employee’s freedom of speech and loyalty obligations is complex, describing the engineer’s post as a borderline case influenced by multiple factors, including the employee’s role and how they utilize social media.