State of Emergency in Romania. What should the companies know?

Today, March 16, 2020, the President of Romania signed the Decree on establishing the state of emergency on the territory of Romania, for a period of 30 days. The President shall request Parliament to approve the measure adopted, within a maximum of 5 days from his issuance date.

Here are some of the measures that have an impact on the economic and social life:

In the economic field:

Today, March 16, 2020, the President of Romania signed the Decree on establishing the state of emergency on the territory of Romania, for a period of 30 days. The President shall request Parliament to approve the measure adopted, within a maximum of 5 days from his issuance date.

Here are some of the measures that have an impact on the economic and social life:

In the economic field:

• The Government may adopt measures to support the comanies in the areas affected by COVID-19.
• Central and local public institutions and authorities, autonomous administrative authorities, autonomous authorities, national companies and companies and companies in which the state or a territorial-administrative unit is sole or majority shareholder, private equity companies, introduce, where possible, during the period state of emergency, work at home or telemuncture, by unilateral act of the employer.
• In order to combat the spread of COVID-19 infections, central public authorities may require the production units of materials and equipment necessary to combat this epidemic.
• The beneficiaries of the European funds affected by the adoption of the emergency measures provided in this decree may decide, together with the managing authorities / intermediary organisms, to suspend the financing contracts concluded according to the law.
• The Ministry of Economy, Energy and Business Environment issues, upon request, the economic operators whose activity is affected in the context of COVID-19, emergency situation certificates based on the supporting documents.
• The validity of documents issued by public authorities that expire during the period of emergency is maintained.
• During the emergency period, the prices for medicines and medical equipment, for the food of strict necessity and for the services of public utility (electricity and heat, gas, water supply, sanitation, fuels, etc.) can be capped, within the limit of the average price, from the last 3 months before declaring the state of emergency.

In the health field:

• The settlement of the medical leave granted to the quarantined persons for COVID-19 will be carried out with priority by providing additional amounts in the FNUASS budget to the required level.

In the field of work and social protection:

• The government can support employers and employees affected by the effects of the COVID-19 crisis, by derogations from the legal provisions in force.
• By order of the Minister of Labor and Social Protection, social protection measures are established for the employees and their families from the economic sectors whose activity is affected or stopped totally or partially by decisions of the public authorities, during the state of emergency.
• During the state of emergency, the provisions of Law no. 19/2020 regarding the granting of free days to parents for the supervision of children, in the situation of temporary closure of the educational units, does not apply to the employees of the national defense system, the employees of the penitentiaries, the personnel of the public sanitary units and other categories established by order of the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Minister of Economy, Energy and Business Environment and the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communications, as the case may be;
• During the state of emergency, there is a suspension of the controls carried out at the employers, by the Territorial Labor Inspectorates, except for the controls ordered by the Minister of Labor and Social Protection, those ordered by the Labor Inspectorate for the implementation of the decisions of the National Committee for Emergency Situations, those necessary to respond to the notices claiming to commit certain acts with a high degree of social danger and to investigate work accidents.
• The validity of collective labor contracts and collective agreements during the state of emergency is maintained.
• During the state of emergency, it is forbidden to declare, trigger or carry out collective labor conflicts in the units of the national energy system, from the operating units from the nuclear sectors, from the units with continuous fire, from the health and social assistance units, telecommunications, the radio. and public television, from rail transport, from units that provide public transport and sanitation of the localities, as well as the population’s supply of gas, electricity, heat and water.
• By exception from the provisions of the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 111/2010 regarding the leave and the monthly allowance for the raising of children, the entitled person retains the incentive of insertion, in case of losing the job as a result of the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic.

In the field of justice:

• The prescriptions and deadlines of any kind do not start to flow and, if they have started to run, they are suspended throughout the state of emergency.
• During the state of emergency, the activity of the court continues in the cases of special urgency, established by the governing bodies of the courts. The judgment of civil trials, other than those established as special emergencies, is suspended in full during the state of emergency instituted by it, without the need to carry out any procedural act for this purpose.
• During the state of emergency, the activity of the National Trade Register Office and of the trade register offices of the courts continues regarding the registration of mentions regarding legal persons and natural persons registered in the trade register and is carried out by electronic means, based on the request of registration of the statements and documents annexed thereto in electronic form, having the extended electronic signature incorporated, attached or logically associated.

Other measures:

• During the state of emergency, courses in all units and educational institutions are suspended.
• During the state of emergency, the central and local public administration authorities will take measures to organize the activity so as to avoid, as far as possible, direct contact between persons, including by using electronic means of communication.
• During the state of emergency, the legal deadlines set for solving the requests made in the exercise of the free access to information of public interest, as well as the petitions are doubled.

In conclusion, the Romanian Government is going to adopt a series of decisions in the coming days to implement the provisions of the Decree.