Whistleblower Protection Blog : Whistleblower Lawyer & Attorney : National Whistleblower Legal Defense and Education Fund : Whistleblower Protection, Fraud Claims : Washington DC

Protections Expanded to Workers Who Expose Safety Defects in Imported Consumer Products and Violations of the Consumer Products Safety Act and the Hazardous Substances Acts

 

Washington, D.C. November 8, 2008.  The National Whistleblower Center is sponsoring the first training seminar covering the newly enacted whistleblower protection provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Act of 2008.   The new law contains groundbreaking whistleblower protections covering millions of workers employed in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of consumer goods. The Act contains strong pro-employee provisions, including the right to a trial by jury, compensatory damages and attorney’s fees and costs.

The all-day seminars are being held in the Taft Room at the Willard InterContinental Hotel,
1401 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Washington, D.C. on November 21, 2008.  

The new law protects workers who blow the whistle on safety problems in over 15,000 different types of consumer products, including Asbestos, benzene, bicycle helmets, blasting caps, carpets and rugs, caustic or corrosive substances, 
flammable products, 
fabrics, 
fireworks, gasoline, 
toxic substances, 
imported consumer products, lead paint, and 
toys.   The protections extend beyond the Consumer Products Safety Act, an include disclosures concerning violations of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, the Flammable Fabrics Act, and the Poison Prevention Packaging Act.

This is the first seminar specifically designed to train whistleblowers and their advocates in the mechanics of the Act, and how this law would protect workers who blow the whistle on toxic toys and other dangerous consumer products.    Commencing at 9 a.m., the program consists of four seminars covering all aspects of the new law.  It is designed to assist workers and their lawyers in effectively presenting claims.  CLE credit is available to attorneys.   

To review the full program and faculty click here.   A registration fee of $495.00 is required, but scholarships are available.  Whistleblowers, students, community activists, and members of the press who wish to attend should contact 
Estelle S. Kohn
  at  202-342-1903 or email her at  ek@whistleblowers.org 

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On November 21 the National Whistleblowers Center will be holding an attorney training seminar at the historic Willard Hotel in Washington, DC. This full-day seminar will focus on America's newest whistleblower laws which were passed as part of the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act of 2008.

For a full agenda and registration information, visit the NWC website HERE

For more information on the CPSC Reform Act, CLICK HERE

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Today, with a stroke of his pen, President Bush ensured that over 20 million private sector employees would be protected when they report unsafe consumer goods. The protections are part of a bill that constitutes an overhaul of the Consumer Product Safety Reform Commission and places tough new regulations on manufacturers.
 

After hammering out the details in conference committee, Congress sent the bill to the White House on July 30. President Bush signed the bill into law despite having expressed concerns about some of the toughest provisions, including the whistleblower protections.
 

The National Whistleblower Center has issued a press release on this issue.
 

Click here to read the full text of the law

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It's been a week since our last post, and a lot has happened in the world of whistleblower protection since then. Here are some of the high (and low) lights:

• ITS OFFICIAL! The CPSC Reform Act (HR.4040/S.2663) will contain strong whistleblower protections for private sector employees who report safety violations to their managers or through the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The President is expected to sign the measure within the next week, and it will protect over 20 million employees.
  
  The New York Times published this August 5 editorial calling for the President's prompt signature.
  
  
• David Welch, who was the first whistleblower to obtain protection under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, was denied reinstatement by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, VA this week. This is a terrible result for Welch, who has been battling his former employer for over 7 years, and a bad precedent for Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblowers. Of nearly 1,000 SOX whistleblower complaints, not one whistleblower has been victorious in court.
  
  More information can be found about this case at the Workplace Prof's blog.
  

• Here is an interesting story about Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss and his rough treatment of a sugar plant whistleblower during a Senate hearing. It seems that Sen. Chambliss is blaming the whistleblower, company VP Graham H. Graham, for an explosion at his plant which killed  13 workers on February 7.
  
  Interestingly, it appears that Graham had only been working at the plant several weeks before the explosion, during which he had reported safety violations and was rebuffed by superiors. Also, the company, Imperial, is among Chambliss' campaign contributors.
  
  
• DoD contractor Pratt&Whitney has settled a False Claims Act suit, and over $52 million will be returned to US Taxpayers. The company was accused of manufacturing faulty engine parts for Airforce fighter jets which caused the june 2003 crash of an F-16. The company is also replacing parts for over 50,000 aircraft at its own expense. 
  

 

 

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Although the House/Senate conference committee has yet to issue its official conference report, many news outlets are now reporting that the final language has been approved, and that whistleblower protections for private sector manufacturing employees  will be included in the final version of the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act (HR.4040)!


If these reports are correct (and we have no reason to doubt them), and if the President signs the bill -he has not issued a veto-threat, but the administration is currently reviewing the language of the conference report- manufacturing employees will have some of the strongest whistleblower protections in the country. Under the new law, whistleblowers will have access to jury trials in federal courts with strong remedies, including reinstatement, backpay, compensatory damages, and attorneys fees.


  Read the whistleblower provision of HR.4040 here, at the NWC's consumer product safety webpage.


UPDATE: Senator Pryor's website has all of the provisions that have been agreed to, INCLUDING whistleblower protection!!!

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Today, the National Whistleblower Center issued an urgent action alert, requesting that all whistleblower supporters email and/or call their Senators and Representatives, urging them to support whistleblower protections in the Consumer Product Safety Commission reform legislation.

The CPSC reform is now in conference committee, and the conferees are scheduled to vote on the bill tomorrow. The Senate version of the bill contains whistleblower protection for manufacturer employees, as well as government inspectors, while the House version contains no whistleblower protections whatsoever.

The National Association of Manufacturers, and other big business groups have made killing whistleblower protections their #1 priority for this bill. We need all the support we can get to make sure that corporate greed does not interfere with product safety reforms! Whistleblowers are the eyes and ears, but we must give them the freedom to speak.

I certainly urge everyone to take a look at the action alert and pass it along to anybody who is interested in protecting honest employees. Here is the link.

http://capwiz.com/whistleblowers/issues/alert/?alertid=11636096&type=CO

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