LGTBI Law 7/2026 mandates companies and public contracts in Asturias

The Principality of Asturias now has Law 7/2026, of October 15, for the eradication of discrimination and for the real and effective equality of rights for lesbian, gay, trans, bisexual, and intersex people and their families. The text, approved by the General Assembly of the Principality of Asturias and promulgated by President Adrián Barbón Rodríguez, is published in the Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias (BOPA) no. 206, of October 23, 2026, with the official reference Code 2026-08565. The law will enter into force two months after its publication, on December 23, 2026.

The regulation occupies 33 pages of the gazette and is organized into four titles and 121 articles, covering everything from education and healthcare to employment, sports, justice, and the sanctioning regime. Its subjective scope binds the regional and local public sector as well as private organizations dependent on an Administration, mostly funded with public money or those providing a public service derived from a contract, agreement, or subsidy. The preamble places the law in the wake of Law 15/2022, of July 12, comprehensive for equal treatment, and Law 4/2023, of February 28, for the real and effective equality of trans people.

Public procurement and subsidies

Article 9 obliges the regional Administration and its public sector to incorporate the promotion of equal treatment and non-discrimination based on sexual orientation, sexual identity, gender expression, and sexual characteristics in administrative procurement, provided there is a link to the object of the contract. The social clauses of the specifications must assess the commitment of the bidders to LGBTI rights, expressed through equality and diversity plans or strategies and effectively implemented measures.

Furthermore, the Administration will verify that contractors have an LGBTI plan when the state framework requires it and may not contract with persons subject to a prohibition from contracting due to a serious or very serious infringement regarding equal treatment. Regarding subsidies, Article 10 allows these plans to be positively valued and requires verification of their compliance before awarding, and bans aid to entities sanctioned by a final resolution resulting in the loss of the possibility to obtain them.

Companies and employment: plans, protocols, and distinction

• Companies with more than fifty employees must establish a planned set of measures and resources for real and effective equality, negotiated, and have a protocol against harassment and violence against LGBTI people (articles 70 and 71).
• The Labor and Social Security Inspectorate will report annually on the degree of compliance with these measures.
• The Administration will approve an LGBTI plan in public employment, negotiated with the legal representation of the workers, applicable from fifty workers onwards (article 67).
• The competent Department will create a badge to recognize companies that stand out in equality and non-discrimination policies (article 68.4).
• Intermediation, training, and hiring programs for trans people will be developed, prioritizing trans women in situations of vulnerability (article 69).

Institutional advertising, media, and participation

Article 86 requires that the contracting of institutional advertising respect the prohibition of discriminatory, sexist messages or those contrary to constitutional values, and that content and advertising be respectful of LGBTI people. The Administration will promote codes of ethics in the media, with the participation of media outlets, unions, and associations, and will promote campaigns in public and subsidized media.

The law creates the LGBTI Participation Council, which assumes the functions of the Asturian Observatory against LGBTI-phobia, suppressed by the first additional provision. The new body will prepare an annual report on the situation of the collective, which it will send to the General Assembly, and its regulations must be approved within six months. The regional equality strategy will be quadrennial, with an evaluation after two years.

Deadlines and sanctioning regime

The second additional provision sets a deadline of one year for measures such as adapting administrative forms, implementing equality indicators in employment, or creating the badge, and two years to approve the LGBTI plan for public employment. Serious and very serious infractions may be punished with disqualification from obtaining subsidies for one or two years, termination of agreements, and revocation or reimbursement of aid; light infractions expire in nine months, serious ones in two years, and very serious ones in three.

The law fully affects companies providing services to the Asturian public sector, whose contractual and subsidy relationships will be conditioned on compliance with LGBTI plans, and reinforces the position of the collective against discrimination. The preamble supports the intervention with data: according to OBERAXE, one in five hate crimes registered in Spain between 2002 and 2021 targeted the sexual orientation or identity of the victims, the primary discriminatory motivation ahead of racial or ethnic origin.

Source: Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias, no. 206 of October 23, 2026, section I. General Provisions, pages 1-33 (official reference: Code 2026-08565).