This page describes EU Directive 2023/970 and Romania's transposition bill (Bill L445/2026, currently under urgent procedure in the Senate). The transposition law has not yet been adopted in Romania — according to the Ministry of Labour, until adoption "the obligations established do not yet produce effects for employers." Information on deadlines and penalties may change before the final adopted form. Last updated: August 24, 2026.
Art. 14–23
Legal Guide
Penalties
The penalty structure from the bill — worth repeating: a bill, not an adopted law.
Enforcement of rights (Art. 14–22)
- The burden of proof falls on the employer, not the employee, once the worker presents facts from which discrimination may be presumed.
- Limitation period: 3 years from the discriminatory act, or from when the employee became aware — or could have become aware — of it.
- Access to evidence and compensation, explicitly provided for in the text of the Directive.
Penalties (Art. 23)
Under the latest public version of the bill (L445/2026) — a two-tier structure, not a single range:
| Standard breaches | 3–5 gross minimum wages (approx. 12,975–21,625 lei, at the current gross minimum wage of 4,325 lei/month, in effect since July 1, 2026) |
| Repeated breaches | 5–10 gross minimum wages (approx. 21,625–43,250 lei) |
The amounts rise automatically with the gross minimum wage. The figures above come from a bill not yet adopted — they may change before the final form.