The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) is an independent federal agency that administers the Consumer Product Safety Act (“CPSA”), 15 U.S.C. §§ 2051-2089, and has authority to seek civil penalties for alleged violations of the CPSA. Under the terms of the CPSA, five Commissioners make up the CPSC. The current group of Commissioners includes three Democrats and two Republicans; however, the term of one of the Democrats, Commissioner Marietta Robinson, expires in October 2017. A new Commissioner will thereafter be appointed by the President of the United States, with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a seven (7) year term. In the foreseeable future, there should be a new Commissioner appointed, which may have a significant impact on the direction of the CPSC.

• The amount of civil penalties has increased in recent years as a result of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, which increased the maximum penalties from $8,000 to $100,000 per occurrence for failure to report a product safety hazard, and increased the maximum penalty amounts for a related series of violations from $1.8 million to $15 million.
• In 2015, the United States Department of Justice, on behalf of the CPSC, filed two lawsuits against companies for allegedly failing to comply with the terms of the CPSA.
• Ann Marie Buerkle (a Republican) was named Acting Chairman of the CPSC on February 9, 2017, replacing former Chairman Elliott Kaye (a Democrat).
• Commissioner Buerkle has been outspoken about the trend of seeking increased civil penalties and appears to favor a more collaborative approach.

The true impact of the recent changes to CPSC leadership, along with the anticipated upcoming change to the political balance of Commissioners, will not be fully understood until a new Commissioner is appointed and any new policies and practices are implemented. For a more complete analysis of the expected changes and potential impact on the CPSC’s regulatory regime read, “Expect Change At The Consumer Product Safety Commission”.

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