Whistleblower Protection and CPSIA

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Whistlebower Protection under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA)

Under the CPSIA, 15 U.S.C. §2087, whistleblower protection is offered for employees who are discharged or discriminated against by manufacturers, private labelers, distributors, and/or retailers, because they gave or are giving information to the employer, Federal Government, or attorney general regarding violations of any provision of this Act.

The CPSIA holds that it is unlawful for any person to manufacture for sale, offer for sale, distribute for sale any consumer product not in conformity with an applicable consumer product safety standard as outlined under this statute, or which has been declared as a banned hazardous product.  Any person who believes that he or she was discharged or otherwise discriminated against in violation of this section may file a claim within 180 days after the date on which the violation occurs with any Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) office.

If the Secretary of Labor finds that the employer committed a violation of this statute, the Secretary shall order the employer to: take affirmative action to abate the violation, reinstate the complainant to his or her former position together with compensation (including back pay) and restore the terms, conditions, and privileges associated with his or her employment, and to provide compensatory damages.

If you are a manufacturer or distributor, you can minimize your risk by having a process in place for employees to report incidents or concerns without penalty.

1.     Find this out

  • Do you believe that your company really wants to find out about problems with your products or potential safety issues related to their use?
  • Would you feel comfortable raising serious concerns to your manager or others in the company believing that they would welcome your concerns and then be committed to investigating and resolving them

Until you find out that most individuals answer this positively , your company has an important gap in  its compliance program and won’ be maximizing its ability to prevent, detect and correct problems no matter how many hotlines, training sessions, policies and directives it implements. Getting positive, enduring responses to these questions is a matter of leadership, company culture, and daily behavior.

2.     The goal is cultural, not administrative

The key focus should be on instituting a culture of compliance in your company. Processes and other administrative measures may help this develop but alone are not insufficient. Overall, the key is to have leaders demonstrate their commitment, individuals learn specific behaviors that help them find out about problems and for companies to establish their long term credibility by acting effectively when issues are brought to their attention.


The information provided above is relevant if you have a company with fifty employees or a company of three. If you are a small company and each employee wears several operational hats, it may not be practical to formally institute a compliance plan right away but it is important to outline policy, procedures and escalation process so that everyone knows who is responsible for what when issues arise. Having a playbook to follow will make it easier as you grow and as more people are added, things will become easier to manage.  Brand protection is paramount to your company’s success and if you want to grow into a big company, it is best to start while you are small to keep compliance an integral part of your everyday business activities.

For help with your companies compliance plan, please contact Jacoby Solutions as we can help you put a plan in place so you never need have to worry about whistleblowers.

Newest version of the CPSC’s toy safety standard, ASTM F963-11,in effect June 12, 2012

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Children’s toys manufactured or imported after June 12, 2012, must comply with all mandatory sections of the recently revised ASTM F963-11. Manufacturers and importers should continue using a CPSC-accepted third party laboratory for the sections of ASTM F963-08 that did not change in ASTM F963-11.

However, for new or revised sections of ASTM F963-11 that are not “functionally equivalent” to the -08, version, manufacturers and importers are not yet required to use a CPSC-accepted third party testing laboratory until the Commission approves a revised Notice of Requirements. As of May 1, 2012, that proposed Notice of Requirements (pdf) is pending, but not yet approved as a final rule, by the Commission.

In the event that a manufacturer or importer wishes to have its products tested now – in the hope that testing to the -11 version eventually will be accepted by the CPSC – that manufacturer or importer should check with its current CPSC-accepted laboratory to see if they will be applying to the CPSC for acceptance of the -11 version. If so, and if the lab satisfies other conditions spelled out in the draft document , then the Commission likely will accept that testing upon its approval of the new Notice of Requirements. (This is not a guarantee of the Commission’s action, but the Commission traditionally has permitted acceptance of such testing, provided that all the other conditions are satisfied.)

The additional requirements in the draft document (pdf) are as follows:

  • The test results show compliance with the nonequivalent section(s) of ASTM F 963-11.
  • The children’s product was tested on or after February 22, 2012, and before the effective date of 16 CFR part 1112.
  • The third party conformity assessment body’s accreditation remains in effect through the effective date of 16 CFR part 1112.
  • The third party conformity assessment body’s application for acceptance of its accreditation is accepted by the CPSC on or after May 24, 2012 and before the effective date for 16 CFR part 1112.
  • The children’s product was tested by a third party conformity assessment body accredited to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 by a signatory to the ILAC-MRA at the time of the test. The scope of the third party conformity assessment body accreditation must include the tests contained in the applicable nonequivalent sections of ASTM F 963-11.
    • For firewalled third party conformity assessment bodies, the firewalled third party conformity assessment body must be one that the Commission, by order, has accredited, on or before the time that the children’s product was tested, even if the order did not include the nonequivalent tests contained in ASTM F 963-11.
    • For governmental third party conformity assessment bodies, the governmental third party conformity assessment body must be one whose accreditation was accepted by the Commission, even if the scope of accreditation did not include the tests for the nonequivalent tests contained in ASTM F 963-11.

 

Port Surveillance News: CPSC Investigators Find, Stop Nearly 650,000 Unsafe Products at the Start of Fiscal Year 2012

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 5, 2012
Release #12-142		 CPSC Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: Carl Purvis, (301) 504-7805

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Investigators with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) prevented more than half a million violative and hazardous imported products from reaching the hands of consumers in the first quarter of fiscal year 2012.

Working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, CPSC port investigators successfully identified consumer products that were in violation of U.S. safety rules or found to be unsafe. CPSC and CBP teamed up to screen more than 2,900 imported shipments at ports of entry into the United States. As applicable, these screenings involved use and abuse testing or the use of an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer. Their efforts prevented more than 647,000 units of about 240 different noncomplying products from reaching consumers, between October 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011.

Topping the list of products stopped were children’s products containing levels of lead exceeding the federal limits, toys and other articles with small parts that present a choking hazard for children younger than 3 years old, and toys and child care articles with banned phthalates.

In addition to violative toys and other children’s products, items stopped at import included defective and dangerous hair dryers, lamps and holiday lights.

“We mean business when it comes to enforcing some of the toughest requirements for children’s products in the world. If an imported product fails to comply with our safety rules, then we work to stop it from coming into the United States,” said Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “Safer products at the ports means safer products in your home.”

During fiscal year 2011, CPSC inspected more than 9,900 product shipments at the ports nationwide and stopped almost 4.5 million units of violative or hazardous consumer products from entering the stores and homes of U.S. consumers.

CPSC has been screening products at ports since it began operating in 1973. In 2008, the agency intensified its efforts with the creation of an import surveillance division.

CPSC Accepts ASTM F963-11 for Toy Safety

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 22, 2012 / Rules and Regulation

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
16 CFR Chapter II
Acceptance of ASTM F963–11 as a Mandatory Consumer Product Safety Standard
AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.
ACTION: Acceptance of standard.
SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety  Commission (‘‘CPSC,’’ Commission,’’ or ‘we’’) is announcing that we have accepted the revised ASTM F963–11
standard titled, Standard Consumer Safety Specifications for Toy Safety. Pursuant to section 106 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of
2008, ASTM F963–11 will become a mandatory consumer product safety standard effective June 12, 2012.
DATES: ASTM F963–11 will become effective on June 12, 2012.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jonathan Midgett, Ph.D., Office of
Hazard Identification and Reduction,
U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission, 4330 East West Highway,
Suite 600, Bethesda, MD 20814;
telephone (301) 504–7692; email
jmidgett@cpsc.gov.
Dated: February 15, 2012.

Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety
Commission.
[FR Doc. 2012–3990 Filed 2–21–12; 8:45 am]

Final ruling -Consumer Registration of Durable Infant or Toddler Products for CPSIA

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The CPSC has issued a final ruling regarding the Product Registration component.

CPSC stated in the preamble to the proposed rule, 76 FR 48055, that they recognize
that manufacturers may have an existing inventory of registration forms and that the
changes to the forms are minor and would not affect safety. They proposed that the
amendment would take effect 12 months (Feb 2013) after publication of a final rule.

They also stated that until the amendment takes effect, they would consider registration

forms to be in compliance that meet either the existing rule or the amendment.

Accordingly, they amend 16 CFR part 1130 as follows:
PART 1130 – REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSUMER REGISTRATION OF
DURABLE INFANT OR TODDLER PRODUCTS
1. The authority citation for part 1130 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2056a, 2065(b).
2. In § 1130.3(a)(2), remove “§ 1130.9” and add in its place “§ 1130.8”.
3. Section 1130.5 is amended as follows:
a. In § 1130.5 (a), remove “and 1130.7”.
b. In § 1130.5 (f), remove “1130.7(a)” and add, in its place “1130.6(c)(1)”.
4. Revise § 1130.6 to read as follows:

§ 1130.6 Requirements for format and text of registration forms.
(a) Size of form. The form shall be at least the size of two standard post cards,
connected with perforation for later separation, so that each of the two portions is at least
3 ½ inches high x 5 inches wide x 0.007 inches thick.
(b) Layout of form. (1) General. The form shall consist of four parts: top and
bottom, divided by perforations for easy separation, and front and back.
(2) Font size and typeface. The registration form shall use bold black typeface.
The size of the type shall be at least 0.12 in (3.0 mm) for the purpose statement required
in § 1130.6(c)(1), and no less than 0.10 in (2.5 mm) for the other information in the
registration form. The title of the purpose statement and the retention statement required
in § 1130.6(d)(2) shall be in all capitals. All other information shall be in capital and
lowercase type.
(c) Front of form. (1) Top front of form: Purpose statement. The top portion of
the front of each form shall state: “PRODUCT REGISTRATION FOR SAFETY ALERT
OR RECALL ONLY. We will use the information provided on this card to contact you
only if there is a safety alert or recall for this product. We will not sell, rent, or share
your personal information. To register your product, please complete and mail the
bottom part of this card, or visit our online registration at: www.websitename.com.”
Manufacturers that do not have a website may provide an e-mail address and state at the
end of the purpose statement: “To register your product, please complete and mail the
bottom part of this card, or e-mail your contact information, the model name and number,
and date of manufacture of the product, as provided on this card, to:
name@firmname.com.

(2) Bottom front of form: Manufacturer’s mailing address. The bottom portion of
the front of each form shall be pre-addressed and postage-paid with the manufacturer’s
name and mailing address where registration information is to be collected. If a
manufacturer uses a third party to process registration forms, the third party’s name may
be included as a “c/o” (“in care of”) in the address on the form.
(d) Back of the form. (1) Top back of form.
(i) Product information and manufacturer’s identification. The top portion of the
back of each form shall state: “Manufacturer’s Contact Information” and provide the
manufacturer’s name and contact information (a U.S. mailing address displayed in
sentence format, website address, a telephone number, toll-free, if available); product
model name and number (or other identifier as described in § 1130.4(a)(1) and (2)); and
manufacture date of the product. A rectangular box shall be placed around the model
name, model number, and manufacture date.
(ii) Retention statement. On the back of each form, just above the perforation
line, the form shall state: “KEEP THIS TOP PART FOR YOUR RECORDS. FILL OUT
AND RETURN BOTTOM PART.”
(2) Bottom back of form.
(i) Consumer information. The bottom portion of the back of each form shall have
blocks for the consumer to provide his/her name, address, telephone number, and e-mail
address. These blocks shall be 5 mm wide and 7 mm high, with as many blocks as
possible to fill the width of the card allowing for normal printing practices.
(ii) Product information. The following product information shall be provided on
the bottom portion of the back of each form below the blocks for consumer information
printed directly on the form or on a pre-printed label that is applied to the form: the
model name and number (or other identifier as described in § 1130.4(a)(1) and (2)), and
the date of manufacture of the product. A rectangular box shall be placed around the
model name, model number, and manufacture date. A manufacturer may include its
name on the bottom portion of the back of the form if they choose to do so.
5. Remove § 1130.7, and redesignate §§ 1130.8 and 1130.9 as §§ 1130.7 and
1130.8, respectively.
6. In redesignated § 1130.8, add new paragraph (d) to read as follows:
(d) Records required under this section shall be made available within 24 hours,
upon the request of any officer, employee, or agent acting on behalf of the U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission.
7. Revise Figure 1, as follows:
FIGURE 1 & 2 TO PART 1130 – FRONT /BACK OF REGISTRATION CARD

 

 

 

 

CPSC Launches Registry for Small Batch Manufacturers

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Dec 23, 2011, CPSC is launching an easy-to-use registry for small batch manufacturers, which can be found at www.SaferProducts.gov. Congress directed CPSC to establish this registry for small batch manufacturers in Public Law 112-28, which was signed into law by President Obama on August 12, 2011.

Small batch manufacturers, defined as those who earned $1 million or less in total gross revenues from sales of consumer products in 2011, and who produced in total no more than 7,500 units of at least one consumer product in 2011 can register for calendar year 2012 at www.SaferProducts.gov. Qualifying small batch manufacturers are not required to third party test for compliance with certain children’s product safety rules during 2012 for products which they produced no more than 7,500 units of in the previous calendar year.

This new registry does not exempt small batch manufacturers from ensuring that their products comply with these mandatory standards. Small batch manufacturers must still provide a certificate of conformity, in which the manufacturers certify in writing that their products comply with the applicable regulations. However, except where required by law, the certificate does not have to be based on third party testing.

Effective December 31, 2011, the stays of enforcement on third-party testing and certification for limits on total lead content for children’s products, the ban on certain phthalates for children’s toys and child care articles, and the mandatory toy standard (ASTM F963) will end. CPSC launched an education and outreach effort to ensure widespread awareness of the new federal requirements and has also provided assistance and guidance to small batch manufacturers to help them understand these new requirements.

For additional information on the Small Batch Manufacturers Registry and small batch guidance materials, please see www.cpsc.gov/smallbatch. You may also contact our small business ombudsman Neal Cohen at ncohen@cpsc.gov or through www.cpsc.gov/sbo

—

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of the thousands of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $900 billion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products – such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters and household chemicals – contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, go online to: www.saferproducts.gov, call CPSC’s Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270 for the hearing impaired. Consumers can obtain this news release and product safety information at www.cpsc.gov. To join a free e-mail subscription list, please go tohttps://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx.

CPSC Reinforces Children’s Sleepwear and Loungewear Enforcement Policy to Apparel Industry

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CPSC Reinforces Children’s Sleepwear and Loungewear Enforcement Policy to Apparel Industry

Agency standards designed to prevent burn injuries to children

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — In an effort to remind the industry of their obligations associated with children’s sleepwear and loungewear, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC’s) Director of Compliance and Field Operations sent a letter(pdf) to manufacturers, distributors, importers and retailers today reinforcing CPSC staff’s enforcement policy on children’s sleepwear and loungewear.

Highlights in the letter to industry review the definition of children’s sleepwear including loungewear as a type of children’s sleepwear. The Commission’s regulations define the term “children’s sleepwear” to include any product of wearing apparel (in sizes 0–14), such as nightgowns, pajamas, or similar or related items, such as robes, intended to be worn primarily for sleeping or activities related to sleeping. This definition exempts: (1) diapers and underwear; (2) “infant garments,” sized for a child nine months of age or younger; and (3) “tight-fitting garments” that meet specific maximum dimensions.

In the 1990s, a category of products called “loungewear” was introduced into the children’s market. CPSC staff views children’s “loungewear,” or other similar garments marketed as comfort wear, as garments worn primarily for sleep-related activities. Therefore, “loungewear” must comply with the children’s sleepwear standards.

The letter includes a summary of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) requirements for manufacturers and importers of children’s sleepwear sold online or in stores. These requirements include tracking labels, a certificate of compliance and testing requirements for phthalates, lead content and lead in surface coatings on snaps, zipper pulls and elsewhere on the product.

The CPSC is the federal safety agency responsible for the enforcement of the Flammable Fabrics Act (FFA), which includes protecting the public from the hazards of flammable fabrics, interior furnishings and wearing apparel, including children’s sleepwear.

The children’s sleepwear standards were developed to prevent children’s sleepwear from igniting due to exposure to ignition sources, such as matches/lighters, candles, ranges, stoves, space heaters and fireplaces. Most of the ignition incidents occurred while children were wearing sleepwear or sleep-related items during the evening before bedtime or in the morning around breakfast time.

CPSC Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

 

SOURCE U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

CPSC Safety Rules & January 1, 2012 – What You Need to Know

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CPSC Small Business Ombudsman – 11/21/2011

Dear CPSC Small Business Community:

 

As you may know, on January 1, 2012, manufacturers and importers of children’s products will be required—for the first time under federal law—to third party test and certify their children’s products for compliance with the limit on total lead content in children’s products.  Manufacturers and importers will also be required to third party test and certify that toys and certain child care articles are compliant with the federal toy safety standard and the ban on certain phthalates.  We are reaching out, in the spirit of partnership, to provide you with new and updated education and guidance materials (described below) to ease the transition for affected businesses as the stays of enforcement expire for these regulations.  We want to work with you to ensure that you are familiar with these new requirements and to address your concerns.

 

Toy Safety Standard & the Ban on Phthalates

 

Recently, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (the “Commission”) announced the development of a strategic outreach and education plan to help the business community and other stakeholders learn about the third party testing and certification requirements that will go into effect on January 1, 2012, for children’s toys and toy chests manufactured after December 31, 2011.  For more information on the toy safety standard, please see our website at: www.cpsc.gov/toysafety.  Also, while you are visiting our website, please review our strategic outreach and education plan in the upper right hand corner of the page, and provide us with additional ideas and feedback about our plan.

 

Third party testing and certification requirements will also go into effect for the ban on certain phthalates for children’s toys and certain child care articles manufactured after December 31, 2011.  For more information about the ban on phthalates in toys and certain child care articles, please see our website at: www.cpsc.gov/phthalates.

 

Total Lead Limits in Children’s Products

 

January 1, 2012 also represents the date on which the Commission will begin to enforce the third party testing and certification requirements for the total lead limit of 100 parts per million in accessible parts of children’s products.  Unlike the toy and phthalate requirements, this requirement is for children’s products manufactured after August 14, 2011.   For more information about the total lead limits in children’s products, please see our website at: www.cpsc.gov/lead.

 

Certification and Third Party Testing

 

For all children’s products safety rules, certification and third party testing are generally required.  Certification means that manufacturers and importers of children’s products must issue a written Children’s Product Certificate (CPC) for each product, which identifies the product, the rule or standard with which it must comply, the third party laboratory where it was tested, and other requirements. Certification must be based upon the results of third party testing, which means testing performed by a third party, accredited laboratory that the Commission has accepted to perform the specific tests associated with each children’s product safety rule. For more details about what third party testing and certification means for your business, and for links to our list of accepted laboratories and sample certificates, please see our website at: www.cpsc.gov/3PT and www.cpsc.gov/labsearch.

 

Small Batch Manufacturers

 

In certain situations, qualifying small batch manufacturers may not be required to third party test their children’s products in order to certify compliance with one particular group of children’s product safety rules.  It depends on the children’s product and the materials used to manufacture that children’s product.  Specific information on third party testing requirements for small batch manufacturers is available at www.cpsc.gov/smallbatch.

 

Sign-Up for Updates

 

For future updates on this and other regulatory issues that may affect you, consider signing up for one of our e-mail services.  We have also just created an account on Twitter (@CPSCSmallBiz) and you can choose to follow us on Twitter for regular updates.  The Small Business Ombudsman’s e-mail service sign-up form is at www.cpsc.gov/sbo on the upper right hand side of that Web page.  And, at www.cpsc.gov/lists.html, you will also find a sign-up form for other useful Commission e-mail services of interest.  Of course, if you have additional questions about these requirements, you may always contact me at www.cpsc.gov/sbo by clicking on the  “Contact Form” on the upper right hand side of that Web page for the fastest response.

 

Please do not wait to take the necessary actions to ensure that your products comply and are properly third party tested and certified on January 1, 2012.

 

I hope that we can work together to ensure a robust compliance rate with these new requirements in order to protect consumers better and to ensure that businesses have a level playing field in providing safe and compliant consumer products to the American consumer.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Neal S. Cohen

Small Business Ombudsman

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

CPSC Launches Online Reporting Tool For Businesses

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The SaferProducts.gov Business Portal Changes Are Part of CPSC’s Information Technology Modernization Effort On November 8, 2011, the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced new features to the SaferProducts.gov Business Portal that it claims will make it easier and more efficient for businesses to work with CPSC. These changes are a key part of the agency’s overall information technology modernization effort.

A new, comprehensive online form allows manufacturers, private labelers and importers to quickly submit required reports of potentially hazardous or defective products to CPSC. The online form makes it easier for businesses to report product hazards and to communicate information on consumer product safety issues with CPSC.

Another improvement expands CPSC’s ability to correspond with all registered businesses on SaferProducts.gov using the Business Portal,instead of postal mail. All registered manufacturers, importers and private labelers identified in incident reports will now receive notices electronically, regardless of whether the report is eligible to be published on SaferProducts.gov. Previously, businesses could only receive SaferProducts-eligible reports electronically. With this release, the structure has been put in place to eventually allow businesses registered in the Business Portal to add brand names for products they sell or have sold. Along with brand names, the time periods during which the company sold each brand also can be identified.

These enhancements to the SaferProducts.gov Business Portal are largely a response to requests and feedback CPSC received from businesses and trade associations.

Have you registered YOUR business on the saferproducts.gov site? 
If you haven't you should do so today!

The Washington DC Fly In; actually a little scary – Out of the Toy Box | Blog on Gifts and Dec

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The Washington DC Fly In; actually a little scary

November 5, 2011 Richard Gottlieb

Southpark

Each year, the Toy Industry Association asks the industry to come together in Washington, learn about what the government has planned for us and lobby Congress for relief from whatever that is. This week a small number of industry leaders answered that call. I made the trip as did Cardinal, Funrise, Sportcraft, Thinkfun, Patch, Itoys, Wild Planet, Creativity for Kids, American Plastic Toys, Tomy, Big Time Toys Mattel, Leapfrog, Hasbro and Lego.

I strongly suggest that the next time there is a Fly In that you make the trip as well. There is just too much at stake not to attend. For one thing, it was really a little scary.

Nancy Nord, Commissioner for the Consumer Products Safety Commission, gave us a stern warning that 2012 is going to be the year in which the CPSC will begin enforcing new CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act) regulations. They will go into effect on January 1, 2012 as Federal Law. The CPSC will bechecking toys at the ports of entry. Failure to comply with third party testing regulations; leaving off traffic information and other discrepancies can lead to holding of the shipment and fines of $100,000 per violation. This is serious stuff.

Nord is a smart woman and she is highly sensitive to the stress that the new law puts on the toy industry. She does not, however, make the law, Congress does. Her job is to enforce it. So, in order to avoid having to make any more difficult for toy companies she wants them to be sure to take all the necessary steps to be in compliance.

The problem, and it’s a big one, is that the law is extremely difficult to understand and by the CPSC’s own admission, their website is not particularly helpful. They told us that they are working on improving it but I doubt that that is going to happen any time soon. Why, because they are badly understaffed?

So where are industry members who need information or are unsure that they are getting the right testing to go for help?

Well, you can contact the CPSC’s Small Business Ombudsman, Neal Cohen. Neal addressed us and I found him to be extremely articulate, smart and sympathetic. He will take your calls (301 504 7504) and answer your emails (ncohen@cpsc.gov). He is, however, just one man and has responsibility for a whole lot more than the toy industry.

I think the better place to go is to contact the Toy Industry Association. They are truly the only organization that has the assets in place to fully understand and interpret the law. When you do so, email Lorca Hjortsberg at lhjortsberg@toyassociation.org.

Nord and Cohen encouraged us to give them feedback on the current regulations. The best way to do that is through the TIA. So, I suggest that you contact the TIA to find out how you can help. And by the way, if you are not a member of the TIA, it is more than ever a good investment to join. You can do so by clicking here.