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U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC, CPSC, or commission) is a historically-independent agency of the United States government. The CPSC seeks to promote the safety of consumer products by addressing "unreasonable risks" of injury (through coordinating recalls, evaluating products that are the subject of consumer complaints or industry reports, etc.); developing uniform safety standards (some mandatory, some through a voluntary standards process); and conducting research into product-related illness and injury.
The agency was created by section 4 of the Consumer Product Safety Act in 1972. The agency reports to Congress and the President; it is not part of any other department or agency in the federal government. The CPSC has five commissioners, who are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate for staggered seven-year terms. Historically, the commission was often run by three commissioners or fewer. Since 2009, however, the agency has generally been led by five commissioners, one of whom serves as chairman. The commissioners set policy for the CPSC. The CPSC is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.
The CPSC regulates the manufacture and sale of more than 15,000 different consumer products, from cribs to all-terrain vehicles. Products excluded from the CPSC’s jurisdiction include those specifically named by law as under the jurisdiction of other federal agencies. For example, on-road automobiles are regulated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, guns are regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and drugs are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.
The CPSC fulfills its mission by banning dangerous consumer products, establishing safety requirements for other consumer products, issuing recalls of products already on the market, and researching potential hazards associated with consumer products.
In part due to its small size, the CPSC attempts to coordinate with outside parties—including companies and consumer advocates—to leverage resources and expertise to achieve outcomes that advance consumer safety.
The aspect of CPSC’s work that most U.S. citizens might recognize is the “recall,” formally a “corrective action” in which a company develops a “a comprehensive plan that reaches throughout the entire distribution chain to consumers who have the product” and addresses a potential or alleged failure of a product. Recalls are nearly always voluntary. While many recalls involve consumers returning consumer products to the manufacturer for a replacement or, more rarely, a refund, recalls have also involved tasks such as instructing users on how to clean an item or publishing a software patch. Most recalls recover very few consumer products, for a variety of hypothesized reasons. Industry and consumer advocates are often at odds over whether recalls need to be more effective, as many consumers may simply discard products that are the subject of recalls. Whether a consumer learns of a recall in the first place is a different question. One commissioner has called for companies to spend as much on recall advertising as the companies do on their advertising of the products before recalls.
The CPSC makes rules about consumer products when it identifies a consumer product hazard that is not already addressed by an industry voluntary consensus standard, or when Congress directs it to do so. Its rules can specify basic design requirements, or they can amount to product bans, as in the case of small high-powered magnets, which the CPSC attempted to ban. For certain infant products, the CPSC regulates even when voluntary standards exist. The CPSC is required to follow a rigorous, scientific process to develop mandatory rules. Failing to do so can justify the revocation of a rule, as was the case in a Tenth Circuit decision vacating the CPSC’s ban on small high-powered magnets.
Since February 2015, the average civil penalty has been $2.9 million. In April 2018, Polaris Industries agreed to pay a record $27.25 million civil penalty for failing to report defective off-road vehicles.
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U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC, CPSC, or commission) is a historically-independent agency of the United States government. The CPSC seeks to promote the safety of consumer products by addressing "unreasonable risks" of injury (through coordinating recalls, evaluating products that are the subject of consumer complaints or industry reports, etc.); developing uniform safety standards (some mandatory, some through a voluntary standards process); and conducting research into product-related illness and injury.
The agency was created by section 4 of the Consumer Product Safety Act in 1972. The agency reports to Congress and the President; it is not part of any other department or agency in the federal government. The CPSC has five commissioners, who are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate for staggered seven-year terms. Historically, the commission was often run by three commissioners or fewer. Since 2009, however, the agency has generally been led by five commissioners, one of whom serves as chairman. The commissioners set policy for the CPSC. The CPSC is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.
The CPSC regulates the manufacture and sale of more than 15,000 different consumer products, from cribs to all-terrain vehicles. Products excluded from the CPSC’s jurisdiction include those specifically named by law as under the jurisdiction of other federal agencies. For example, on-road automobiles are regulated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, guns are regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and drugs are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.
The CPSC fulfills its mission by banning dangerous consumer products, establishing safety requirements for other consumer products, issuing recalls of products already on the market, and researching potential hazards associated with consumer products.
In part due to its small size, the CPSC attempts to coordinate with outside parties—including companies and consumer advocates—to leverage resources and expertise to achieve outcomes that advance consumer safety.
The aspect of CPSC’s work that most U.S. citizens might recognize is the “recall,” formally a “corrective action” in which a company develops a “a comprehensive plan that reaches throughout the entire distribution chain to consumers who have the product” and addresses a potential or alleged failure of a product. Recalls are nearly always voluntary. While many recalls involve consumers returning consumer products to the manufacturer for a replacement or, more rarely, a refund, recalls have also involved tasks such as instructing users on how to clean an item or publishing a software patch. Most recalls recover very few consumer products, for a variety of hypothesized reasons. Industry and consumer advocates are often at odds over whether recalls need to be more effective, as many consumers may simply discard products that are the subject of recalls. Whether a consumer learns of a recall in the first place is a different question. One commissioner has called for companies to spend as much on recall advertising as the companies do on their advertising of the products before recalls.
The CPSC makes rules about consumer products when it identifies a consumer product hazard that is not already addressed by an industry voluntary consensus standard, or when Congress directs it to do so. Its rules can specify basic design requirements, or they can amount to product bans, as in the case of small high-powered magnets, which the CPSC attempted to ban. For certain infant products, the CPSC regulates even when voluntary standards exist. The CPSC is required to follow a rigorous, scientific process to develop mandatory rules. Failing to do so can justify the revocation of a rule, as was the case in a Tenth Circuit decision vacating the CPSC’s ban on small high-powered magnets.
Since February 2015, the average civil penalty has been $2.9 million. In April 2018, Polaris Industries agreed to pay a record $27.25 million civil penalty for failing to report defective off-road vehicles.
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