The concept of “workers” is defined broadly in terms of the Draft Law’s scope of application. It applies to all employees working in both the public and private sectors, including: (i) civil servants; (ii) military personnel; (iii) and other categories of personnel whose status is regulated by special laws. For the purposes of the law, all these categories are collectively referred to as “workers.” In addition, the transparency provisions extend beyond the employment relationship to include job applicants applying for vacant positions.

The Draft Law defines the term “pay structure” (Ro: structură de remunerare) as the internal remuneration system at employer level designed to ensure compliance with the principle of equal pay, with the objective of eliminating gender-based pay disparities between workers performing the same work or work of equal value.

The Draft Law defines “equal work or work of equal value” as a remunerated activity which, following a comparison, based on the same indicators and the same units of measurement, with another activity, reflects the use of similar or equal professional knowledge and skills and the performance of an equal or similar amount of intellectual and/or physical effort, responsibilities and working conditions.

The Draft Law provides that the employer must provide to job applicants: (i) the initial pay or its range, based on objective, gender-neutral criteria; and (ii) where applicable, the relevant provisions of the collective agreement applied by the employer in relation to the position. As per the draft law, initial pay includes the gross remuneration, including the base salary, allowances, bonuses, other salary additions, and any other complementary or variable components of gross salary income, received directly or indirectly by the worker in respect of the work performed.

Under the Draft Law, the information must either be: (i) included in the job vacancy announcement published on the employer’s website or in any publicly accessible space; or (ii) communicated in writing to the applicant before the job interview.

The Draft Law prohibits employers, during the procedure for filling a vacant position, from requesting information about candidates’ current or previous remuneration levels.

The Draft Law prohibits requesting salary history information from candidates, however it does not expressly prohibit the use of salary information already held by the employer. The salary for internal hires or promotions should be based on objective, gender-neutral criteria applicable to the role.

Under the Draft Law, job vacancy notices and job titles must be gender-neutral.

Under the Draft Law, employers must make available to workers, in an easily accessible manner, the criteria used to determine remuneration, pay levels and, where applicable, pay progression. For workers in the public sector, employers must also make available the relevant salary grids.

Under the Draft Law, this information must be made available to workers within the organization in an easily accessible manner. The draft law does not provide a specific format; however, this could be done through the company website, an internal HR platform, or email.

The Draft Law requires pay structures and pay-related criteria to be objective, transparent and gender-neutral, however, it does not provide an exhaustive statutory list of the criteria to be used for determining pay, pay levels or pay progression. The Draft Law sets forth that the criteria used to determine base salary, pay levels and pay progression must be objective and must comply with the principle of equal treatment between women and men.

The obligation to inform workers about the criteria for remuneration progression does not apply to employers with fewer than 50 workers.

Under the Draft Law, “pay” is defined broadly as any gross remuneration, including the base salary, allowances, bonuses, other salary additions, and any other complementary or variable components of gross salary income, received directly or indirectly by the worker in respect of the work performed.

The Draft Law does not expressly identify any pay components that may be excluded from the calculation of gross hourly pay. 

The employer must provide the requested information within a reasonable period, however no later than 30 working days from the date of the request.

The information must be provided in writing. If the request is made through the National Council for Combating Discrimination (CNCD), the CNCD obtains the information from the employer and then transmits it to the requesting worker in electronic format.

There is no headcount-based exemption from the individual worker’s right to request pay information.

A worker may request and receive the information individually or through workers’ representatives. In addition, workers may request and receive the same information through the CNCD.

If the information received is inaccurate or incomplete, the worker has the right to request clarifications and additional reasonable information from the employer, individually or through workers’ representatives. The employer must provide a motivated response within a maximum of 30 working days.

Employers must inform workers annually, by the end of the first quarter, of their right to request the information and of the procedures to be followed in order to exercise such right.

The Draft Law does not specify the language in which the information must be provided, as it only requires the information to be provided in writing and, where applicable, in an accessible format for persons with disabilities. Nevertheless, Romanian employment legislation requires that employment related documentation to be drafted also in Romanian.

Employers cannot prohibit workers from disclosing their own pay, as such clauses are expressly considered incompatible with the Directive’s and the Draft Law’s transparency objectives. Employers also cannot prevent workers from sharing average pay information obtained through their statutory right to information, provided that the disclosure is made for the purpose of enforcing equal pay rights or transparency. However, employers may still impose reasonable confidentiality obligations regarding:

• personal data of identifiable workers (e.g., exact individual salaries of other employees);
• information obtained in the context of access rights that could indirectly identify individuals, where data protection rules apply.

The Draft Law does not expressly provide a formal remediation process for existing contracts, such as amendments to all existing employment contracts and only requires that individual employment contracts may not prohibit or limit employees from disclosing information about their remuneration.

Once the Draft Law enters into force, existing pay secrecy clauses that prevent employees from disclosing their own remuneration would likely be unenforceable. As a practical compliance step, employers should update their employment contract templates, internal policies and, where appropriate, existing contracts to remove or clarify any pay secrecy wording that is inconsistent with the Draft Law.

b) Yes. The legislation sets specific reporting timelines based on the employer's headcount: 

• 250 or more workers: The first report is due by June 7, 2027, covering the previous calendar year, and annually thereafter by June 7. 
• 150 to 249 workers: The first report is due by June 7, 2027, covering the previous calendar year, and every 3 years thereafter by June 7. 
• 100 to 149 workers: The first report is due by June 7, 2031, covering the previous calendar year, and every 3 years thereafter by June 7.

a) Under the Draft Law, employers with at least 100 workers are required to report gender pay gap information. The information that must be reported shall include at least: 

• The gender pay gap;
• The gender pay gap for complementary or variable pay components;
• The median gender pay gap;
• The median gender pay gap for complementary or variable pay components; 
• The proportion of female and male workers receiving complementary or variable pay components; 
• The proportion of female and male workers in each quartile pay band; 
• The gender pay gap by categories of workers, broken down by basic wage/salary and complementary or variable components;

The draft legislation does not mention a specific "snapshot" date, however it specifies that the reported information must cover the previous calendar year. The reporting methodology, standard format and specific deadlines will be detailed in a subsequent order issued by the Minister of Labor.

Employers may voluntarily publish the general pay gap indicators (specifically those listed under the first six bullets above) on their website or in any publicly accessible space. The gender pay gap by categories of workers, broken down by basic wage/salary and complementary or variable components information must be provided to employees and workers’ representatives and communicated to ANES, and may also be shared with the Labour Inspectorate and the CNCD upon request.

Employers must report the information identified under letter a) above to ANES by the June 7 deadlines mentioned above. 

Regarding publication by authorities, the Draft Law states that ANES will promptly publish the general data it collects (overall and median gaps, quartiles) in an easily accessible and user-friendly manner that allows for the comparison of employers, sectors, and regions.

The Draft Law does not contain specific provisions or guidance on how to report or classify employees who choose not to identify with a particular gender.

An employer must remedy the situation within 90 working days. By exception, in thoroughly justified situations, this term can be extended up to a maximum of 6 months. Additionally, when implementing measures resulting from a joint pay assessment, unjustified pay gaps must be remedied within 6 months.

The Draft Law specifies that implementing remedial measures includes analyzing existing gender-neutral job evaluation and classification systems or establishing new ones to ensure the exclusion of any direct or indirect discrimination based on sex regarding pay.

The employer must remedy the initial unjustified pay differences, within 6 months, in cooperation with the workers' representatives, the Territorial Labor Inspectorate, and/or the CNCD, as applicable. 

The Draft Law does not use or define the term "close cooperation." Instead, in the context of remediation process, it refers to actions being taken "in consultation with". However, when determining the objective and gender-neutral criteria used to evaluate work or justify pay differences, the law explicitly states these criteria must be "agreed upon" with the workers' representatives.

An employer is required to conduct a joint pay assessment if the pay reporting reveals an average gender pay gap of at least 5% in any category of workers, provided that the employer has not justified this difference based on objective, gender-neutral criteria, and has not remedied the unjustified difference within 6 months of submitting the pay report.

The joint pay assessment must include at least:

• An analysis of the proportion of female and male workers in each category. 
• Information on average pay levels and complementary/variable components for male and female workers in each category. 
• Any differences in average pay levels between men and women in each category. 
• The reasons for these differences based on objective, gender-neutral criteria, as agreed upon by the employer and workers' representatives. 
• The proportion of male and female workers who benefited from pay improvements after returning from maternity, paternity, parental, or carers' leave. 
• Measures to eliminate pay differences if they are not justified by objective, gender-neutral criteria. 
• An evaluation of the effectiveness of measures taken following previous joint pay assessments, if applicable.

The employer must make the joint pay assessment available to its workers and the workers' representatives. The assessment must also be communicated to the ANES. Furthermore, upon their request, the employer must make it available to the Territorial Labor Inspectorate and the CNCD.

a) Under the Draft Law,  if the disclosure of information would directly or indirectly lead to the disclosure of the remuneration of an identifiable worker, access to that specific information is restricted.  In such cases, only the following entities are permitted to access the information:

• The workers' representatives;
• The Territorial Labor Inspectorate;
• CNCD;

The Draft Law stipulates that personal data processed under the transparency provisions can only be used for the purpose of enforcing the principle of equal pay. Furthermore, while workers' representatives or the CNCD can use this restricted information to counsel workers on potential legal actions, they must do so without disclosing the actual, individual pay levels of the other workers being used for comparison.

Under the Draft Law, failing to meet pay transparency or reporting obligations constitutes an administrative offence. This applies specifically to the following acts: 

• Failing to inform candidates about starting pay. 
• Asking candidates about their salary history. 
• Failing to provide access to the criteria used to determine pay and pay progression. 
• Refusing to provide the individual and average pay information requested by workers. 
• Failing to comply with gender pay gap reporting obligations. 
• Failing to conduct a joint pay assessment when required. 

The Draft Law establishes the following sanctions for breaching of these obligations:

• The breaches are punishable by a fine ranging from RON 10,000 to RON 20,000. 
• Repeated breaches of these obligations constitute an aggravating circumstance, which increases the fine to between RON 20,000 and RON 30,000. 

• Additionally, intersectional discrimination (where a breach involves the sex criteria alongside another discrimination criteria) is also treated as an aggravating circumstance.  

• The sanctions are applied by the control personnel of the Territorial Labor Inspectorates.

• Beyond administrative fines, a competent court can issue orders requiring the employer to put an end to the infringement or to take measures to apply the rights and obligations regarding equal pay. If the employer fails to comply with these court measures, the court can impose periodic penalty payments (Ro: penalități cu titlu cominatoriu) on the employer. 

Under the Draft Law, workers who consider themselves victims of gender-based pay discrimination have several rights of action and avenues for recourse:

• A worker has the right to directly address the employer, contact the competent institution, or resort to conciliation.
• A worker can file a formal complaint with the CNCD.
• A worker can file a claim directly with the competent court (under labor jurisdiction) to request damages and the restoration of the situation. Filing a court claim is not conditioned upon first notifying the CNCD. 

• In court, the worker can request material damages, moral damages, full reparation, and the removal of the consequences of the discriminatory acts. Full reparation must be real and effective, placing the victim in the situation they would have been in had the discrimination not occurred. This explicitly includes the full recovery of back pay, related bonuses or payments in kind, compensation for lost opportunities, moral damages, any harm caused by intersectional discrimination, and late payment interest. 

• Court claims filed by workers regarding equal pay matters are entirely exempt from judicial stamp duties. During a court case, if the worker presents facts from which direct or indirect discrimination can be presumed, the burden of proof shifts to the employer, who must prove that no breach of the equal treatment principle occurred. 

• Trade unions can initiate administrative or judicial procedures regarding an alleged infringement of equal pay rights on behalf of, or in support of, the worker, provided they have the worker's consent.  These procedures remain accessible even after the termination of the employment relationship during which the alleged discrimination occurred. Filing a complaint with the employer, the CNCD, or a claim in court interrupts the statute of limitations. 

• Workers, their representatives, or any person who files a complaint or supports a victim of pay discrimination are legally protected against dismissal and any adverse treatment from the employer related to their complaint or support efforts. 

Under the draft law, "workers' representatives" (Ro: reprezentanții lucrătorilor) are defined as the trade union or the workers' representatives according to Article 102 point B letter a) of Law no. 367/2022 on social dialogue, respectively elected by at least 50% plus one of the total workforce and specifically mandated for this purpose.

The provided draft legislation does not include explicit provisions or alternative procedures for situations where an employer does not have appointed or elected workers' representatives. The obligations to consult, cooperate, and agree with workers' representatives on matters such as the joint pay assessment and work evaluation criteria are stated as mandatory requirements. Consequently, employers would likely need to facilitate the election of representatives in accordance with the general labor and social dialogue laws to fulfill these specific compliance obligations.

The draft law closely implements the rights set out in the Directive, including the following main rights of workers' representatives:

• Agreeing on the objective, gender-neutral criteria used to evaluate whether workers are in a comparable situation regarding the value of their work. 

• Requesting and receiving individual and average pay level information on behalf of a worker. 

• Requesting clarifications and receiving motivated answers if the provided pay information is inaccurate or incomplete. 

• Being consulted to confirm the accuracy of the gender pay gap report and having access to the applied methodologies. 

• Receiving the detailed pay gap data broken down by worker categories and requesting further details or explanations for any gaps. 

• Cooperating to remedy unjustified pay gaps. 

• Being consulted during the joint pay assessment and during the implementation of its resulting measures. 

• Counseling workers on potential legal actions using restricted data, without disclosing individual pay levels. 

• Trade unions (Ro: organizațiile sindicale) have the right to initiate administrative or judicial procedures regarding alleged equal pay breaches on behalf of or in support of a victim, with their consent. 

The Draft Law classifies the failure to conduct a joint pay assessment as an administrative offence. Since the assessment must be performed in consultation with workers' representatives, failing to engage them appropriately would render the assessment non-compliant. Such administrative offences are sanctioned with fines ranging from RON 10,000 to RON 20,000. 

Employers have a strict obligation to confirm the accuracy of the pay gap information designated for reporting only after consulting the workers' representatives. To facilitate this, the law explicitly mandates that workers' representatives must be granted access to the methodologies applied by the employer. Furthermore, employers must provide the representatives with the specific pay gap data, and must respond to any requests for clarifications or explanations regarding these gaps within 30 working days (extendable by another 30 days).

Trade unions can initiate any administrative or judicial procedure concerning an alleged breach of equal pay rights and obligations. They can act on behalf of, or in support of, the affected worker, provided they have the worker's consent. They can also report breaches to the control personnel of the Territorial Labor Inspectorates, who are responsible for issuing sanctions.

Workers can directly address the employer, seek conciliation, file a complaint with the CNCD, or file a lawsuit with the competent court to request material/moral damages, and full reparation.

Both workers and their representatives are legally protected against dismissal or any adverse treatment by the employer as retaliation for filing a complaint or supporting a victim of pay discrimination. 

Under the draft law, ANES, in consultation with CNCD, are expected to provide the following support:

• Make available to employers and social partners, in an easily accessible manner, tools and methodologies for establishing objective and gender-neutral criteria regarding workers, which will serve as the basis for assessing comparable situations in terms of the value of work;

• Develop support tools to evaluate pay inequalities based on the analysis of the causes of the gender pay gap, specifically utilizing guidelines and analytical tools from the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE);

• Collaboration between social partnerts and the relevant public authorities;

The support identified under point a) above will be available to all employers, without a specified headcount limit. Additionally, the Draft Law provides that in order to support employers with fewer than 250 workers and workers’ representatives, ANES will provide specialized assistance and will make available methodologies, logistical support, and other types of informational materials.

At present, there is no indication that dedicated employer support materials or consolidated guidance have already been drafted or published. However, the Draft Law requires that the relevant authorities (ANES, CNCD, Labor Inspectorate) will ensure that the provisions of the law and any related guidance or resources are made publicly available, including through publication on their official websites and by any other appropriate means.

Additional secondary legislation is expected, as the Draft Law provides that the reporting methodology, standard format and any specific deadlines will be detailed in a subsequent order issued by the Minister of Labor.