1. Home
  2. |Insights
  3. |CPSC Votes To Extend Stay of Certification and Third Party Testing Requirements For Total Lead Content In Certain Products, Including Children's Products

CPSC Votes To Extend Stay of Certification and Third Party Testing Requirements For Total Lead Content In Certain Products, Including Children's Products

Client Alert | 2 min read | 02.02.11

On February 1, 2011, the Consumer Product Safety Commission ("CPSC") voted 4-1 to extend an existing stay of enforcement of third party testing and certification requirements for total lead content in various consumer products, as set forth in Section 102 of the Consumer Safety Improvement Act of 2008 ("CPSIA").  The CPSC's vote, which will extend the stay of enforcement until December 31, 2011, applies to (1) children's products; (2) certain components in motorized youth recreational vehicles; and (3) bicycles, jogger strollers, and bicycle trailers.  These stays were originally set to expire on February 10, 2011; May 12, 2011; and July 1, 2011, respectively.

The CPSC expressly noted that this extension does not apply to –

  • Children's Metal Jewelry:  Children's metal jewelry has been subject to the CPSIA's lead testing and certification standards since March 2009.
  • Other Children's Product Safety Rules:  The existing stays of enforcement of testing and certification requirements for other children's product safety rules, such as the phthalate and ASTM F-963 standards, "will continue until the respective notice of requirements for laboratory accreditation are published."

Commissioner Robert Adler voted against extending the stay.  In a written statement, he explained that the stay should not be extended, in part, because "consumers still do not have the assurance that the children's products they buy have been reasonably tested, or tested at all, to determine they meet the federal lead standards required in the CPSIA."  Commissioner Adler also noted, however, that he recognizes the burden that CPSIA compliance imposes on manufacturers, particularly small businesses.  CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum and Commissioner Northrup also filed statements relating to this vote.

Consistent with the previous stays of enforcement of testing and certification requirements, the products at issue must still comply with applicable lead content standards.  To access Crowell & Moring's summary of the December 2009 Stay of Enforcement, including a discussion of the relevant statutory provisions and prior stays of enforcement of certification and testing, click here. 

Contacts

Insights

Client Alert | 5 min read | 12.12.25

Eleventh Circuit Hears Argument on False Claims Act Qui Tam Constitutionality

On the morning of December 12, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit heard argument in United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, LLC, et al., No. 24-13581 (11th Cir. 2025). This case concerns the constitutionality of the False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam provisions and a groundbreaking September 2024 opinion in which the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida held that the FCA’s qui tam provisions were unconstitutional under Article II. See United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Fla. Med. Assocs., LLC, 751 F. Supp. 3d 1293 (M.D. Fla. 2024). That decision, penned by District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, was the first success story for a legal theory that has been gaining steam ever since Justices Thomas, Barrett, and Kavanaugh indicated they would be willing to consider arguments about the constitutionality of the qui tam provisions in U.S. ex rel. Polansky v. Exec. Health Res., 599 U.S. 419 (2023). In her opinion, Judge Mizelle held (1) qui tam relators are officers of the U.S. who must be appointed under the Appointments Clause; and (2) historical practice treating qui tam and similar relators as less than “officers” for constitutional purposes was not enough to save the qui tam provisions from the fundamental Article II infirmity the court identified. That ruling was appealed and, after full briefing, including by the government and a bevy of amici, the litigants stepped up to the plate this morning for oral argument....

View All Insights