UK King’s Speech 2024: New ‘Product Safety Bill’ Seeks To Address E-Bike Battery Fires
July 18, 2024, ZAG Daily
A new ‘Product Safety and Metrology Bill’ announced in the King’s Speech seeks to address the fire risks associated with e-bikes and lithium-ion batteries in the UK. The King’s Speech sets out the new Labor government’s legislative priorities following the party’s general election victory. Since 2020, there have been over 190 injuries and at least 13 deaths in lithium-ion battery fires, and the UK is currently experiencing nearly one e-bike or e-scooter fire per day. This Bill will give the new government powers to ensure a continued supply of safe goods into the UK market and provide more regulatory stability and protection for consumers.
First Ever Consumer Product Safety Pulse Report Reveals Essential Insights On Consumer Recall Behavior
July 18, 2024, West Virginia News
The release of its first ever Consumer Product Safety Pulse Report by Sedgwick’s Brand Protection division is backed by a comprehensive survey of over 2,000 consumers across North America and Europe and offers insights on consumer attitudes, expectations, behavior and perception related to product safety. The consumer product safety pulse report highlights communication biases and motivators for consumer response to recall events as well as the potential reputational impact to brands. While the survey primarily focused on consumer products, the lessons derived are applicable across industries to help manufacturers and retailers enhance the effectiveness of product safety communications, recall strategies and customer retention.
When Your Team Offloads Their Stress Onto You
June 11, 2024, Harvard Business Review
Being a leader in today’s evolving workplace is more emotionally demanding than ever — and especially so if you’re quietly sustaining the emotional well-being of your team or others. In this article, the author outlines five strategies to help you perform this vital organizational role without burning yourself out: 1) Seek to understand — not to feel. 2) Install boundaries. 3) Savor your positive impact. 4) Show yourself equal care. 5) Tie your contributions to performance.
CPSC Import Shipment Tracking Tool
July 2024, cpsc.gov
This tool will allow you to check the status of your shipment using your Entry Number with your filer code included and Entry Line Number (optional). Using this tool will allow you to see your shipment’s status and the remaining time left for CPSC to review the shipment.
Bissell Recalls More Than 3.5 Million Steam Cleaners Due To Burn Risk
July 18, 2024, CBS News
Bissell is recalling more than 3.5 million steam cleaners sold across the U.S. and in Canada because the handheld products can spew hot water or steam, potentially burning users, the company said in a notice posted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Bissell has received 183 reports of hot water or steam escaping from the product, including 157 reports of minor burn injuries, according to the recall. Manufactured in China, the steamers were sold online and in stores including Amazon, HSN (formerly known as Home Shopping Network), Target and Walmart from August 2008 through May 2024, according to the recall notice. This follows the April recall of more than 2 million Black+Decker garment steamers blamed for scalding dozens of users.
June 2024 Bounty Hunter Plaintiff Claims
July 17, 2024, JD Supra
Because Prop. 65 permits enforcement of the law by private individuals (the so-called bounty hunter provision), this section of the statute has long been a source of significant claims and litigation in California. It has also gone a long way in helping to create a plaintiff’s bar that specializes in such lawsuits. This is because the statute allows recovery of attorney’s fees, in addition to the imposition of civil penalties as high as $2,500 per day per violation. The purpose of this article is to provide an idea of the ongoing trends in bounty hunter activity.
New Commissioner Douglas Dziak Announces On Addition To Senior Staff
June 10, 2024, cpsc.gov
CPSC Commissioner Douglas Dziak announced the first member of his staff. Dana Smullen has joined Commissioner Dziak’s team as Senior Policy Advisor. Dana has over a decade of experience working in Congress on health care, early childhood and education issues, senior services, and federal workforce improvement for Senator George V. Voinovich and Congressman Steve Chabot.
The Ever-Growing Increase Of EU And UK Product Safety Related Requirements And Enforcement Activity
July 18, 2024, JD Supra
In recent years, the EU and UK have significantly heightened their focus on product safety requirements. This increase in new (or at minimum, extended) legislation in both the EU and UK, aimed at ensuring only safe products are placed on these markets, in turn heightens the risk of regulatory scrutiny. This is made all the more complex for companies trying to navigating the various requirements at play, by the ever-growing notion of what is meant by a ’product’, as well as what ‘safe’ means in this context.
Marine Manufacturers Association Supports California’s Proposed Prop. 65 Changes
July 18, 2024, Boating Industry
The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) submitted comments to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) in response to its proposed changes to Proposition (Prop) 65 short form warning requirements. For several years, NMMA and its members have been working with the California regulator to provide clarity around the labeling proposal and its impact on the recreational boating industry. NMMA has been working with OEHHA since 2021 to develop a more targeted approach to marine products since they originally proposed changes to the Prop 65 short form warning label. In its new proposal, OEHHA includes “safe harbor language” for recreational marine vessel parts and offers clarity and consistency for Prop 65 warnings for products sold online – both of which were top priorities for the industry.
Boeing Case Puts A Spotlight On Plea Agreements Involving Corporate Defendants
July 18, 20244 MyNorthwest
After two jetliner crashes killed 346 people, a $2.5 billion settlement that let Boeing avoid criminal prosecution failed to resolve questions about the safety of the aerospace giant’s planes. Federal prosecutors now accuse the company of failing to live up to terms of the 2021 settlement. Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a felony fraud charge in a new deal with the Justice Department. The department hopes to file the detailed plea agreement Friday, but says it may need “a few more days.” Experts on corporate behavior say whether the new agreement has a more lasting impact on safety than the earlier settlement could come down to how much power is placed in the hands of an independent monitor who is assigned to oversee Boeing for three years. Prosecutors made the appointment of such a monitor a condition of the plea deal, which also calls for Boeing to pay a new $243.6 million fine.
The What, How, And Why Behind Industry Standards
July 2024, Association of Equipment Manufacturers
Standards look to provide guidance and establish safety and performance requirements, and there are many reasons why society needs them. They protect people, our communities, and the environment – and in the product safety field, employees live and breathe standards. However, it’s easy to confuse industry standards with industry regulations, and for good reason. Standards are technical documents and are consensus driven but they are not unanimous. They are created by experts in their fields. And in the United States, compliance with standards is voluntary. Regulations have specific requirements that companies must follow, and they may also reference standards. They are required by law, and they are overseen by federal, state, and/or municipal authorities.
