Employers Using Illegal Labor To Face 1-2 Years In Prison – Amended Romanian Labor Code

The amended Code was approved Monday by the Government and will be adopted through a confidence vote in Parliament.

The Code says employers hiring up to five people without individual work contracts will be fined 10,000-20,000 lei (EUR1=RON4.2150) per person. Hiring more than five people without contracts will constitute a crime and the employer will receive a prison sentence of one-two years, or forced to pay a criminal fine. The Code provides the same punishment for hiring a person living illegally in Romania, when the employer knows they are a victim of human trafficking.

If the work poses a risk to the person's life or health, the punishment is six months to three years in prison. The person found working without a contract will also be fined between RON500 and RON1000.

A court may also forbid an employer found using illegal labor from receiving state aid, including European Union funds managed by Romanian authorities, for up to five years, or from taking part in a public procurement auction. The court may also instruct the employer to refund the state aid or EU funds acquired up to 12 months prior to the crime, as well order the temporary or permanent closing of the work area(s) where the crime was committed.

In addition, the employer will be required to pay the state the value of all the taxes and social security contributions that would have been paid, had the person been employed legally, including overdue penalties and administrative fines, expenses with the transfer of overdue payments to the country where the illegal employee has returned or been expelled, as well as any payment still owed to the illegal employee.

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