The Labour Protection Office is considering handing the matter over to the police.
Alma Media, which owns the local Rovaniemi paper, maintains that Korhonen’s contract was dissolved because she was dishonest about her partner’s political linkages. However Korhonen says she was really fired because she was living in a same-sex relationship. Alma Media CEO Kai Telanne has denied that Korhonen’s dismissal had anything to do with her relationship.
The Labour Protection Office began investigating the matter on Korhonen’s request. In its report, the office finds that no sufficient grounds existed for Korhonen’s dismissal.
The office says Alma Media’s mistrust in Korhonen as a job candidate is based in illegal discriminatory practices and that probes into the political affiliation of her spouse were uncalled for in terms of the position. The Labour Protection Office also found that the employer in this case had no reason to demand that Korhonen rectify assumptions that her partner was male.
Korhonen is also suing Alma Media in court for around 230,000 euros in damages. A hearing on the matter will be held on Friday at the district court.
Editor's Dismissal Sparked Debate
Korhonen’s dismissal last fall caused a furore among the public and politicians. The comments of outgoing Lapin Kansa editor-in-chief Heikki Tuomi-Nikula “that an openly gay person would have a difficult time in working in the job” added fuel to the fire.
Many politicians spoke out, including President Tarja Halonen, a former chair of the Finnish Sexual Equality Association (SETA). Halonen said she was startled to hear of the decision to sack Korhonen but remarked that it was positive that general opinion considers the termination unjustified if the dismissal grounds were related to Korhonen's sexual orientation.
Alma Media is Finland's second-largest media group.
