Will Troutman (US)

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California enacts PFAS prohibition for textiles

By Will Troutman (US), Jeff Margulies (US) and Ray Muro (US) on September 30, 2022 Posted in General

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed AB 1817 into law, adding to the growing list of state legislation restricting the use of PFAS substances in a variety of consumer products. As of January 1, 2025, AB 1817 prohibits the manufacture, distribution, sale, or offer for sale in the state of “any new, not previously used, … Continue reading

Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act enforcement strategy released

By Will Troutman (US), Jeff Margulies (US) and Phil Di Tullio (US) on June 17, 2022 Posted in Recent legislation and regulations

While we will have more to say shortly on the strategy itself, we wanted to make sure you all saw that the U.S. Government has released its enforcement strategy for the UFLPA, as well as its initial “entity” list. Check back soon for some insights from us on the guidance. Strategy: UFLPA Strategy | Homeland … Continue reading

Compliance with Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act remains a big “?”

By Will Troutman (US) and Phil Di Tullio (US) on May 26, 2022 Posted in ESG

The US continues to trail much of the world in the business human rights space, as there currently are no broad-based federal modern slavery laws similar to the UK or Australia modern slavery acts, nor any proposed federal legislation addressing modern slavery. Similarly, very little has happened at the state level. Historically, the only piece … Continue reading

Prop 65 proposed short form warning regulation lapses

By Jeff Margulies (US), Will Troutman (US), Lauren Shoor (US) and Eva Yang (US) on May 25, 2022 Posted in California Proposition 65

There has been yet another update in the series of the latest Proposition 65 proposed rulemaking regarding short-form warnings. On January 8, 2021, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment’s (OEHHA) announced that it would amend the regulation relating to short-form Proposition 65 warning. After two sets of revisions to the proposed regulation, OEHHA … Continue reading

US lamp saga continues with onset of 45 lpw rule

By Will Troutman (US) and Ray Muro (US) on May 23, 2022 Posted in General, Recent legislation and regulations

In a fitting continuation of the battle for light bulbs, the US Department of Energy recently finalized rules prohibiting the sale of most general use lamps with an efficiency rating of less than 45 lumens per watt (lpw)(for anyone new to the area, “lamp” in this context means what you typically think of as a “light … Continue reading

California issues second set of revisions to Prop 65 short form warning regulation

By Jeff Margulies (US), Will Troutman (US) and Eva Yang (US) on May 3, 2022 Posted in California Proposition 65, General

In the latest twist in California’s never-ending saga to amend the Proposition 65 “short-form” warning regulation, there’s now been a second proposed change. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has been for some time attempting to limit the use of short form warnings, although encountering significant push back and concerns from the … Continue reading

California moves forward with revisions to Prop 65 short-form warning regulation

By Jeff Margulies (US), Will Troutman (US) and Lauren Shoor (US) on January 3, 2022 Posted in California Proposition 65, Recent legislation and regulations

Eleven months after issuing its original proposal to significantly restrict the use of so-called “short-form” Prop 65 safe harbor warnings, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) published a revised proposed regulation on December 13, 2021. The original proposal, which we summarized here, would have required businesses to make significant revisions to their … Continue reading

How data privacy can affect consumer goods

By Will Troutman (US) on June 2, 2021 Posted in General

Check out this recent post on our NT Analyzer blog from my colleagues, Steve Roosa and Dan Rosenzweig, regarding data privacy impacts on the consumer markets/retail space. Steve and Dan will be featured tomorrow, June 3, at the International Association of Privacy Professionals Global Privacy Summit to discuss best practices in managing digital privacy risk, … Continue reading

Social media apps, CDA section 230, and products liability

By Will Troutman (US) and Susan Ross (US) on May 19, 2021 Posted in General

Earlier this month, we saw an eye-opening Ninth Circuit opinion regarding products liability theories applied to social media apps. In short, the Ninth Circuit held section 230 of the Communications Decency Act does not shield the owner of a social media app from liability for third party content when the dispute involves the design of … Continue reading

FDA CBD enforcement continues under Biden

By Will Troutman (US), Mark Faccenda (US) and Katie Fragoso (US) on May 6, 2021 Posted in General

In the first few months of the Biden Administration, the Food and Drug Administration has continued to actively pursue companies marketing and selling CBD products in violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (the “FD&C Act”), picking up where the Trump administration left off. FDA’s recent efforts target products marketed as unapproved drugs … Continue reading

FDA presses pause on CBD enforcement guidance—for now

By Mark Faccenda (US), Will Troutman (US) and Katie Fragoso (US) on January 31, 2021 Posted in General

In the dawn of the new administration, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) withdrew its “Cannabidiol Enforcement Policy,” a document that stakeholders had hoped would deliver long-overdue guidance on cannabidiol (CBD) regulations. The White House had completed its review of the document back in July, although no subsequent action followed, and the contents were … Continue reading

California flammability standard for upholstered furniture goes national

By Will Troutman (US) and Eva Yang (US) on January 15, 2021 Posted in Recent legislation and regulations

On December 21, 2020, Congress passed The Safer Occupancy Furniture Flammability Act (SOFFA), which was presented alongside other legislation in a $1.4 trillion COVID relief omnibus bill. SOFFA requires the adoption of California’s TB 117-2013 as a federal flammability standard for residential upholstered furniture. TB 117-2013 outlines performance standards and methods for testing the smolder … Continue reading

California moves to restrict the use of short-form Prop 65 warnings

By Jeff Margulies (US), Will Troutman (US) and Lauren Shoor (US) on January 11, 2021 Posted in California Proposition 65, Recent legislation and regulations

On January 8, 2021, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking significantly limiting the use of the short-form warning as a safe harbor. The proposed regulation makes the following changes: Limiting the use of the short-form warning to products with 5 square inches or less of label … Continue reading

Breach of contracts and a social media gaming celebrity

By Will Troutman (US) and Eva Yang (US) on August 4, 2020 Posted in General, Recent consumer products case law

As more and more consumer markets brands turn to influencers and social media stars to promote their products, novel legal issues are bound to arise! Sue Ross and Eva Yang provide their analysis on a case recently litigated in the Southern District of New York that includes claims under California’s Talent Agency Act and the … Continue reading

While more states issue reopening plans, other states extend closure

By Will Troutman (US), Jeff Margulies (US) and Eva Yang (US) on April 27, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus

In a sign of the dramatically uncertain nature of next steps, more states have issued orders to partially reopen their economies, while others have extended closure orders that were set to expire at the end of the month. Reopening Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Vermont all have taken the … Continue reading

Plans for reopening begin at state, federal level

By Jeff Margulies (US), Will Troutman (US) and Katie Fragoso (US) on April 17, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, General

State coalitions forming In an effort to plan for reopening their economies, several states have announced regional collaboration efforts. This includes New York and six other Northeastern states, and California, Oregon, and Washington in the west. Earlier this week, California Governor Gavin Newsom outlined a framework to reopen the western economies, predicated on six key indicators:… Continue reading

Los Angeles orders workers and customers to wear face coverings

By Will Troutman (US), Jeff Margulies (US) and Katie Fragoso (US) on April 8, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, General

We are continuing to track state and local restrictions, updated daily, here. In a sign of things that may be coming nationally, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has issued an “emergency order” requiring employees of “Essential Businesses” to wear face coverings. The order also requires customers visiting such businesses to wear face coverings, at the … Continue reading

State “stay at home” orders now in 30 states

By Will Troutman (US) and Jeff Margulies (US) on March 30, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, General

What seemed like a novel and crazy idea a little over a week ago has now become the majority approach to “flattening the curve” in the United States. And those states that have not yet adopted “stay at home” or “shelter in place” orders generally have comparable restrictions at the county, city, or municipal levels. … Continue reading

Federal and state authorities warn against price gouging

By Will Troutman (US) on March 27, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, General

In the wake of the coronavirus, some sellers of essential goods and services have tried to greatly increase the cost of their products to take advantage of increased demand. But sellers beware: Public officials all over the country have expressed a willingness to prosecute price gougers and companies that may facilitate sales of goods with inflated … Continue reading

New coronavirus business restrictions and limitations

By Will Troutman (US) and Jeff Margulies (US) on March 26, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, General

Stay at Home and Shelter in Place orders continue to proliferate, and we are also seeing an uptick in curfews being set. Notable updates in: Idaho Mississippi Missouri Nebraska Tennessee Texas Our updated tracking site is now here.… Continue reading

Coronavirus business restrictions update and links to orders

By Will Troutman (US) and Jeff Margulies (US) on March 24, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, General

For those of you have been following our running list of state and local business restrictions here on the blog, we are happy to report that we have been upgraded to a dedicated website. And with our upgrade comes an added feature–links to the state and local orders we are discussing. Please continue to follow us … Continue reading

UPDATE: business restrictions and limitations

By Will Troutman (US) on March 23, 2020 Posted in General

To say the least, it was a tumultuous weekend. We have updated our coronavirus business restrictions and limitations table, including our first “Hunker Down” order. We anticipate rapid and frequent changes over the next several days, and we will do our best to keep up-to-date. We also would love for you to join us this … Continue reading

“Stay at Home” and “Shelter in Place” restrictions grow; updated business restrictions table

By Will Troutman (US) and Jeff Margulies (US) on March 21, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, General

We continue to update our list of state and local business restrictions and limitations as quickly as we can given the rapidly changing landscape. As of Friday night, “Stay at Home” and “Shelter in Place” orders continue to proliferate, as Connecticut and Illinois have joined California and New York. In general, under these orders, the … Continue reading

UPDATED: Coronavirus restrictions and limitations

By Will Troutman (US), Andy Guo (US), Eva Yang (US) and Katie Fragoso (US) on March 19, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, General

We have just finished a big update of our ongoing coronavirus tracker, which includes California’s stunning “Stay-at-Home” order just issued this evening. We will continue to monitor state and local restrictions nationwide, incorporating them each day. Stay safe and healthy! Consider a Friday “Quarantini” and a virtual Happy Hour!… Continue reading