In advance of a speech at the American Conference Institute, partner Christie Thompson authored the ACI guest blog post, “Mandated Compliance Programs as the New Normal? Williams-Sonoma Agrees to $987,000 CPSC Civil Penalty & Comprehensive Compliance Program.” In early May, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a civil penalty against Williams-Sonoma, Inc. for failure to report a defect in one of their products in a timely manner. In addition to the civil penalty, Williams-Sonoma also agreed to implement and maintain a comprehensive compliance program designed to ensure compliance with all safety statutes and regulations enforced by the Commission. The author notes that mandated compliance programs appear to be the new normal for civil penalty agreements, regardless of the company’s history with the Commission as civil penalty demands continue to increase.

Christie’s June 26, 2013 presentation at the ACI Consumer Products Regulation & Litigation conference will cover how to navigate product recalls, from the pre-engagement determinations when the product recall needs to be initiated to measures you can take while waiting for your recall to close.

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