State Duma nods penalty for no jobs for pre-retirement age people

MOSCOW, Sep 25 (PRIME) -- The State Duma, the parliament’s lower house, has approved in the third and final reading a bill introducing criminal liability for refusal to provide labor opportunities to people of the pre-retirement age on Tuesday.

The bill introduces a penalty of up to 200,000 rubles or up to 360 hours of community service for not hiring or unlawfully firing people five or less years before retirement.

The retirement age is expected to be raised to 60 years for women and 65 years for men from the current 55 years and 60 years, respectively. President Vladimir Putin eased the initial draft of the reform and offered to penalize companies for unfair practices concerning pre-retirement age employees.

(66.1594 rubles – U.S. $1)

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