Unreasonable refusal in employment of Russians of pre-retirement age can entail criminal liability of the employer.

This and other measures to protect the labor rights of older citizens were approved on Thursday, September 13, in the State Duma. "For" voted deputies of three parliamentary factions - "United Russia", "Fair Russia" and the LDPR. Representatives of the Communist Party did not support the idea. The fact that people after 55 years may require special guarantees for employment, said President Vladimir Putin during his appeal to the population in connection with the discussion of ways to improve the pension law. In particular, he allowed the introduction of administrative and even criminal liability of employers for dismissing workers of pre-retirement age or for refusing to hire citizens only because of their advanced age. Moreover, the President emphasized that these measures should be taken simultaneously with the law that increases the age of retirement. According to the chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin, the parliamentary committees scrupulously discussed this amendment. As a result, the addendum to the Criminal Code of the country was submitted to the lower house for consideration in the form of a new article "Unreasonable refusal to hire a person or unjustified dismissal of a person who reached the pre-retirement age". For such actions the employer is offered a fine of up to 200 thousand. rubles or corresponding to the amount of the convicted person's salary for a year and a half. The fine can be replaced by compulsory work for up to 360 hours. As Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova explained to the deputies of the bill, this article is an "actual analogue" of the current article 145 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which protects against unjustified dismissal of pregnant women or mothers with children under 3 years old. Now the appropriate protection will be given to people who are less than five years old before leaving for a well-deserved rest. Moreover, a new article of the Criminal Code will have a preventive character, the first deputy head of the United Russia faction, Andrei Isayev.

"This is a kind of stop lamp. We translate the age discrimination from misdemeanors, as it was until now, into the category of crimes, "he said, noting that such an approach of the state will help to shape the society as a whole a different attitude towards workers of pre-retirement age.

The representative of the faction "Fair Russia" Mikhail Yemelyanov supported the initiative, but pointed to the need to closely monitor the law enforcement practice of the law so as not to violate the rights of not only employees but also employers. LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky agreed that the labor rights of elderly Russians require additional protection. MP from the Communist Party Yuri Sinelshchikov criticized the proposed bill. Following the vote, the document was adopted in the first reading with 370 votes in favor and 12 in favor,.