What Are U.S. Consumer Product Safety Laws?
The Consumer Product Safety Act (“CPSA”) created broad consumer product safety laws and established the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“the Commission”), which protects the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from consumer products. Under the CPSA, “consumer products” are any articles produced or distributed for the personal use or sale to a consumer that are used in or around households or schools or in recreation. While more than 15,000 different products are covered by this definition, you should be aware that certain products have been expressly excluded, including food, cosmetics, medical devices, tobacco products, firearms and ammunition, motor vehicles, pesticides, aircrafts, and boats. Because these products are not considered consumer products, the Improvement Act’s new whistleblower protections will not protect you if you engage in a whistleblowing activity. Under the CPSA, the Commission has power to develop safety standards and pursue recalls
