UPDATE: Utah city moves in the right direction, but the First Amendment requires more 

In a letter sent last month, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression warned the City of Orem, Utah, to respect its librarians’ First Amendment rights or else face a lawsuit. 

The city confirmed July 7 that it will take two important steps in the right direction. This is a good start, and we are pleased that Orem has publicly affirmed “its commitment to respecting the constitutional rights of both employees and others with whom the City interacts.” But the First Amendment requires more, and FIRE’s concerns are not satisfied. FIRE would welcome the opportunity to partner with the city to complete the necessary steps and avoid litigation.

FIRE wrote to Orem on behalf of the Utah Library Association after the City of Orem retaliated against the ULA for its criticism of the library’s policy banning Pride and heritage month displays. The city imposed retaliatory limits on librarian professional development participation and threatened employees with termination if they spoke out in support of the ULA’s position under a vague and overbroad social media policy.

City employees have a general First Amendment right to speak as private citizens on matters of public concern, including city policies. Orem’s officials and the city’s policies must publicly recognize as much.

In the July 7 response, Orem officials agreed to lift the retaliatory ban on librarians’ professional development, a welcome development for the ULA and the Orem librarians who participate in it. The city also publicized its new display policy, another welcome step toward transparency and accountability. What’s more, the city posted a promise on its website: “Orem affirms its commitment to respecting the constitutional rights of both employees and others with whom the City interacts.”

However, more must be done for Orem to fulfill that promise and comply with the First Amendment.

First, the city must put its policy regarding ULA participation into writing in the Orem Employee Handbook and inform library staff of the changes in an all-staff meeting. Memorializing and communicating this positive change to staff is important because the ULA participation ban was announced haphazardly and through word-of-mouth. Orem library employees must be secure in the knowledge they are once again able to seek professional development opportunities in the same way as other city employees, and that commitment must be put into writing.

Second, the city must reform its social media policy to bring it into compliance with the First Amendment. We applaud the city’s stated willingness to examine the policy to protect the First Amendment rights of its employees, including Orem librarians. But we need to see real changes. The policy has significantly chilled employee speech concerning the ULA’s letters and the city’s display policies. The city must rectify the chilling effect that its social media policy has had on employees.

After Utah city Dewey-decimates librarians’ free speech rights, FIRE threatens lawsuit

Press Release

Elected officials in Orem, Utah, forbade library employees from criticizing government restrictions of book displays for gay pride month

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If the city seeks guidance on how to revise its policy to comply with its binding legal obligation to respect the First Amendment, FIRE is standing by to offer our assistance. And once the policy is reformed, the revisions must be memorialized in the staff handbook and communicated to city employees both via email and an in-person meeting. City employees have a general First Amendment right to speak as private citizens on matters of public concern, including city policies. Orem’s officials and the city’s policies must publicly recognize as much.

Again, FIRE and the ULA are encouraged by the City of Orem’s promise to respect the First Amendment, and its initial steps toward meeting its constitutional obligations. In this spirit, ULA leadership would also like to work with the Orem library on a joint statement in favor of free speech and freedom of expression with regard to both the rights of library patrons and the rights of library employees.

FIRE is eager to help the city comply with the First Amendment, and ULA leadership will be happy to meet with Orem library officials as soon as practicable.