In Romania, the legislation on health and safety at work is strict and failure to comply with it can result in severe criminal sanctions for employers. An eloquent example of this is the case of a company which has been criminally sanctioned for failing to comply with its legal obligations in the field of occupational safety and health.
Legal background
According to the Romanian Criminal Code, failure to take the legal occupational safety and health measures is a criminal offense. Article 349 stipulates that “failure to take legal occupational safety and health measures by the person who was obliged to take them is punishable by imprisonment for 6 months to 3 years or a fine”
Article 350 also stipulates that “failure by any person to comply with the lawful occupational safety and health measures shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of 6 months to 3 years or a fine”
Case description
In a recent incident, a company was investigated after an employee suffered a serious workplace accident. The investigation revealed that the employer failed to implement the necessary safety measures as required by Law 319/2006 on health and safety at work.
The deficiencies found included:
- Lack of adequate training of personnel in the field of SSM.
- Failure to provide appropriate personal protective equipment.
- Failure to perform workplace risk assessment.
Sanctions applied
As a result of the findings, the employer was prosecuted for failure to comply with the legal occupational health and safety measures. The court decided to impose a substantial criminal fine and ordered complementary measures, such as:
- Obligation to immediately implement all legal occupational health and safety measures.
- Supervision of the company’s activities by the competent authorities for a specified period.
This case underlines the importance of strict compliance with occupational safety and health legislation. Employers have a legal obligation to provide a safe working environment for all their employees. Failure to do so not only puts workers’ lives and health at risk, but also carries severe criminal penalties for those responsible.
Link: https://www.jurisprudenta.com/jurisprudenta/speta-ngjom4r/