Alexander Hoehn-Saric On His Resignation As CPSC Commission Chair
January 15, 2025, cpsc.gov
Commissioner Hoehn Saric’s statement reads, in part, “Today, I announced that I will step down as Chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, effective January 21, 2025. It has been a privilege to lead this agency for more than three years and I am proud of what we have accomplished. I have devoted much of my career to consumer protection issues, so it has been gratifying to see many of the issues I and others worked on culminate in new policies that will protect babies, children, seniors, and families from product hazards for years to come. Our newly elected Vice-Chairman, Peter Feldman, will become Acting Chairman. I look forward to working with Acting Chairman Feldman and my fellow Commissioners to address product hazards, reduce injuries and save lives.”
CPSC Issues Final Order On Amazon.Com Remediation Plans
January 17, 2025, cpsc.gov|
The Consumer Product Safety Commission unanimously issued a Decision and Order, concluding its administrative litigation with Amazon.com, Inc. The Decision and Order outlines steps Amazon must take to notify purchasers and the public about hazardous products for which the Commission determined Amazon was a distributor under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). This Order has an effective date of January 26, 2025. In July 2024, the Commission determined in a unanimous vote that Amazon was a “distributor” of certain products that are defective or fail to meet federal consumer product safety standards, and therefore bears legal responsibility for their recall.
Statement of Alexander Hoehn-Saric
Statement of Peter A. Feldman and Douglas Dziak
Product Safety Professionals To Receive Designations At International Product Safety Conference
January 17, 2025, WBOY News
The Society of Product Safety Professionals (SPSP) will award its “Certified Product Safety Professional™” designation to three individuals. The candidates passed a university level program in product safety management at Virginia Tech Continuing and Professional Education. The individuals will receive their designations at the Annual Meeting and Training Symposium convened by the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization (ICPHSO) in Orlando, Florida on February 19, 2025. The program has been sponsored by SPSP since its founding in 2019. The program is designed under the authority of SPSP’s affiliate Consumer Product Safety Certification Services.
What To Do When You Think Your Performance Review Is Wrong
March 7, 2017, Harvard Business Review
It’s understandable to be unhappy, even upset, when you don’t agree with your performance review. Proceeding carefully rather than acting rashly is the best approach — and the one most likely to earn you a more favorable appraisal in the future.
2024 – What A Year For Products Law! What’s Next In 2025?
January 16, 2025, Cooley Productwise
2024 was another huge year for products law. In the European Union, an unprecedented number of new laws completed the law-making process, as the 2019 – 2024 mandate of the European Commission came to an end. The UK also took its first legislative steps to reform the UK product safety framework. Here is a roundup of our highlights from 2024 and what to look out for in 2025.
New York And California’s Restrictions On PFAS In Apparel Takes Effect
January 14, 2025, Pillsbury-PFAS Observer (JD Supra)
New York and California have recently imposed sweeping prohibitions on the sale of apparel containing PFAS. These prohibitions have a broad scope and are effective and enforceable as of January 1, 2025. Clothing companies and their suppliers will be impacted by these state regulations. Now that California and New York’s laws have gone into effect, clothing manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers have an enforceable legal obligation to account for the presence of PFAS in their products.
Consumer Reports: Why Buying A Bike Helmet Online Could Be Dangerous
January 16, 2025, Consumer Reports
Bike helmets are a carefully regulated product, with mandatory standards set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission requiring that they adequately protect your skull in case of a crash. A proliferation of third-party sellers means that bike helmets that don’t meet federal safety standards can be easily bought online from sites including eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Shein, Temu, and Walmart. in a recent spot-check, Consumer Reports’ product safety experts were able to easily find helmets available for sale online that didn’t come with the required labels and thus didn’t meet CPSC standards.
December 2024 Prop 65 Bounty Hunter Plaintiff Claims
January 16, 2025, Keller and Heckman (JD Supra)
In December of 2024, product manufacturers, distributors, and retailers were the targets of 394 new Notices of Violation (“Notices”) and amended Notices, alleging a violation of Prop. 65 for failure to provide a warning for their products. This was based on the alleged presence of the following chemicals in these products. Noteworthy trends and categories from Notices sent in December 2024 are excerpted and discussed below. A complete list of Notices sent in December 2024 can be found on the California Attorney General’s website.
Dressers Sold At Walmart Recalled For Tip-Over Risk, STURDY Violation
January 16, 2025, Furniture Today
The 12-drawer Gikpal dresser, sold on Walmart.com through ONME Direct, is unstable if not anchored to the wall, CPSC said, posing serious tip-over and entrapment hazards “that can result in injuries or death to children.” The dressers violate performance and warning label requirements of the STURDY tip-over prevention act, CPSC said.
FTC Blog Outlines Factors For Companies To Consider About
January 10, 2025, Mintz (National Law Review)
The FTC staff in the Office of Technology and the Division of Advertising Practices in the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection released a blog outlining four factors that companies should consider when developing or deploying an AI-based product. These factors are not binding, but they underscore the FTC’s continued focus on enforcing the nation’s consumer protection laws as they relate to AI. The blog comes just under two weeks before current Republican Commissioner Andrew Ferguson will become the FTC Chair. However, under Ferguson, as we discuss below, the FTC will likely continue its same focus on AI consumer protection issues, though it may take a more modest approach.
California Is Years Behind In Implementing A Law To Make Homes More Fire Resistant
January 16, 2025, WNKY ABC News 40
California is years behind in implementing a 2020 law aiming to make it harder for homes to burn during a wildfire. It was slated to take effect in 2023, but the board tasked with developing the regulations has not finalized its guidelines. The law creates a new “ember-resistant” zone, dubbed “zone zero,” that bars things like brush, wooden fencing, furniture, sheds and mulch within 5 feet of homes. Some experts say having the requirement in place could have made a difference for some in the Los Angeles fires that have destroyed thousands of homes.
