As of July 27, a new law—Law No. 151/2020 amending and supplementing Law No. 53/2003—has come into effect, providing clarifications on the concept of discrimination in the Labor Code.
Direct Discrimination: Any act or action of distinction, exclusion, restriction, or preference based on one or more Criteria that aims to or results in the denial, limitation, or elimination of the recognition, use, or exercise of rights provided in labor legislation.
Indirect Discrimination: Any provision, action, criterion, or seemingly neutral practice that disadvantages a person compared to another based on one of the Criteria, unless that provision, action, criterion, or practice is objectively justified by a legitimate purpose, and if the means of achieving that purpose are proportionate, appropriate, and necessary.
Discrimination by Association: Any act or action of discrimination committed against a person who, although not part of a category of persons identified according to the Criteria, is associated with or presumed to be associated with one or more persons belonging to such a category.
The new law also introduces a definition of “harassment,” which consists of any type of behavior based on one of the Criteria that aims to or results in harming a person’s dignity and creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment.
Exclusion, distinction, restriction, or preference regarding a specific job is not considered discrimination if, due to the specific nature of the activity in question or the conditions under which that activity is carried out, there are essential and decisive professional requirements, provided that the purpose is legitimate and the requirements are proportionate.
It is prohibited to dismiss employees based on race, nationality, ethnicity, color, language, religion, social origin, genetic traits, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, chronic non-contagious disease, HIV infection, political opinion, family situation or responsibility, union membership or activity, or belonging to a disadvantaged category.
Failure to comply with the above provisions is subject to a fine ranging from 1,000 lei to 20,000 lei.
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