Tag Archives: CPSC

CPSC Releases Revised Draft Age Appropriate Guidelines for Consumer Products

By Sheila Millar on April 2, 2018 Posted in Product Safety, Regulations

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced potential changes to its 2002 Age Determination Guidelines Relating Children’s Ages to Toy Characteristics and Play Behavior (2002 Guidelines). The new draft guidance, titled Guidelines for Determining Age Appropriateness of Toys (Draft 2018 Guidelines), “addresses toys that have come onto the market since the last update and… Continue Reading

CPSC Sues to Force Jogging-Stroller Recall

By Sheila Millar on March 6, 2018 Posted in Product Safety

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) first lawsuit of 2018 is against the maker of popular lines of jogging strollers, Britax Child Safety, Inc. The complaint, to be heard in administrative proceedings, concern’s Britax’s B.O.B. jogging strollers. The company and its 2011 merger partner, B.O.B. Trailers, Inc., have been importing and distributing the strollers… Continue Reading

CPSC Nominations Update

By Sheila Millar on January 10, 2018 Posted in Product Safety, Regulations

President Trump resubmitted the nominations of Ann Marie Buerkle as chair and a second term as commissioner, and Dana Baiocco as commissioner (replacing Marietta Robinson (D)) of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The Senate received the nominations on January 8, 2018. On December 21, 2017, the United States Senate returned some 120 nominations to… Continue Reading

Court Rules on Spectrum Challenge to CPSC Civil Penalty Authority

By Sheila Millar on October 18, 2017 Posted in Product Safety

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) dispute with Spectrum Brands was resolved in court on September 29, 2017, with both sides able to claim victories of sorts. On the one hand, CPSC was able to obtain a civil penalty for Spectrum’s failure to report and sale of recalled products. On the other, that civil… Continue Reading

Trump Administration Sets Stage for Republican Majority at CPSC

By Sheila Millar and JC Walker on October 2, 2017 Posted in Product Safety, Regulations

Having previously nominated Acting Chairman Ann Marie Buerkle to serve as the permanent chair, and with Senate Commerce Committee hearings held on her confirmation on September 27, 2017, President Trump has nominated lawyer Dana Baiocco to serve a commissioner on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Baiocco would serve for a standard 7-year term… Continue Reading

CPSC Issues Safety Warning for LayZBoard Hoverboards

By Sheila Millar and JC Walker on June 22, 2017 Posted in Product Safety

It is no secret that hoverboards – two-wheeled, battery-powered, self-balancing scooters – have proved enormously popular with kids and teenagers. But allegations regarding defective battery packs have triggered recalls. The latest hoverboard incident was associated with a fatal fire in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania last March. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) started an investigation into… Continue Reading

Kawasaki Settles with CSPC for $5.2 Million for Alleged Failure to Report Defects

By Sheila Millar on June 14, 2017 Posted in Product Safety

Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., of Japan; Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A., of Foothill Ranch, California; and Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp., U.S.A., of Lincoln, Nebraska, agreed to pay a $5.2 million civil penalty over allegations that Kawasaki failed to report floorboards cracking during normal operation of various Teryx4 recreational off-highway vehicles (ROVs) during two separate periods, which… Continue Reading

CPSC Staff Recommends Rejecting Organohalogen Petition

By Sheila Millar on June 12, 2017 Posted in Product Safety, Regulations

In 2015, a group of non-government organizations (NGOs) filed a petition with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), asking CPSC to categorically ban additive organohalogen flame retardants (OFRs) from the market in the U.S. in many significant consumer product categories. OFRs include a very broad set of diverse chemical compounds added to consumer products to… Continue Reading

Elliot Kaye Steps Down as CPSC Chair

By Sheila Millar on February 9, 2017 Posted in Regulations

In line with the chairs of other U.S. government agencies and commissions, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Chairman Elliot F. Kaye has resigned his seat as chairman, according to internal sources. Pursuant to the commissioners’ unanimous vote on January 19, 2017, Vice Chair Ann Marie Buerkle assumes the role of Acting Chair until a permanent… Continue Reading

Best Buy Agrees to Pay $3.8 Million for Selling Recalled Products

By Sheila Millar and JC Walker on October 6, 2016 Posted in Product Safety, Regulations

Mega-retailer Best Buy agreed to pay $3.8 million to settle allegations that the company distributed and sold recalled products, a violation of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) after the 2008 amendments. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff alleged that the retailer sold more than 600 recalled units, including over 400 Canon cameras, to… Continue Reading

CPSC Obtains Record $15.45 Million Settlement from Dehumidifier Manufacturer

By Sheila Millar and JC Walker on March 25, 2016 Posted in Product Safety

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) today announced that it had obtained a record $15,450,000 settlement of civil penalty liability from three Gree Electric entities (Gree Electric Appliances, Inc., of Zhuhai; Hong Kong Gree Electric Appliances Sales Co., Ltd.; and Gree USA Sales, Ltd.) (collectively, Gree). (The settlement is provisional until after the public… Continue Reading

CPSC May Get New Authority Over Liquid Nicotine Containers for E-Cigarettes

By Sheila Millar and Azim Chowdhury on January 28, 2016 Posted in Food and Drug, Product Safety

For all of you who know the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), you know that the agency distinctly does not have authority over tobacco or tobacco products. This arguably wasn’t always the case. Early on, the American Public Health Association petitioned the CPSC to regulate cigarettes containing more than 21 mg of tar. When the… Continue Reading

CPSC Staff Appear Set to Get Vote on Voluntary Standards

By Sheila Millar on January 14, 2016 Posted in Product Safety, Regulations

Members of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are set to vote on a final rule to allow the staff not only to participate on the committees that develop voluntary standards, but to vote as members of the committees and even lead them (provided the Executive Director gives prior approval). If the Commission approves… Continue Reading

CPSC Versus FDA Recalls: What You Need to Know

By Evangelia Pelonis and Sheila Millar on April 1, 2015 Posted in Food and Drug, Product Safety, Regulations

Selling to consumers is generally a beneficial enterprise for all involved, but occasionally businesses will need to recall products, for a myriad of reasons. When that happens, different sets of rules apply depending on the type of product that is impacted. If your product falls under the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) jurisdiction, one… Continue Reading

Green Chemistry – The State of the States

By Sheila Millar on February 27, 2015 Posted in Product Safety

For the consumer products industry, there is little question that state green chemistry laws are becoming increasingly complex and challenging. Laws are in place from California to Maine, and proposals are bubbling up around the country. States as diverse as Connecticut, New York, Florida, Oregon, and even Mississippi are considering their own green chemistry laws.… Continue Reading