Section 6(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Act generally requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission to get permission from a manufacturer before releasing to the public any information about a defective product that would reveal the identity of the manufacturer. Even when the CPSC announces an alert or recall, companies often can restrict the information […]
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In 2015, Congress amended the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to exempt calls made to collect a debt owed to or guaranteed by the federal government from the TCPA’s ban on unwanted robocalls to cell phones. Last week, in a case called American Association of Political Consultants v. FCC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for […]
Vox explains how consumer product recalls work and the need for improvements in the recall system in an article titled "People buy millions of unsafe products every year. Here’s why recalls are harder than they should be," here.
This study published today by the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that a 10% increase in the minimum wage and the Earned Income Tax Credit has a dramatic impact on the number of non-drug-related suicides among men and women without college degrees. Read this article about the study.
The Second Circuit today decided a case involving payday lending and forced arbitration, ruling for the plaintiffs on two important issues. In Gingras v. Think Finance, Vermont residents who claim that the payday loans violate Vermont usury and consumer protection laws as well as federal laws including the RICO statute sued the operators of an […]
The New York Times today has a lengthy piece about treatment of female employees at Sterling, Kay, and Jared Jewelers — stores owned by the same company. The heart of the article is about pay inequity, and pervasive and extreme sexual harassment. But the article also describes the role of the forced arbitration and non-disclosure […]
How can you protect your privacy online? A New York Times article today suggests that you can't. People concerned about privacy often try to be “careful” online. They stay off social media, or if they’re on it, they post cautiously. They don’t share information about their religious beliefs, personal life, health status or political views. […]
Take a good look at this easy-to-read, informative essay by law prof Heidi Li Feldman in the Harvard Law Review blog. In Why the Latest Ruling in the Sandy Hook Shooting Litigation Matters, Feldman explains that, among other things, the Connecticut Supreme Court's recent decision in Soto v. Bushmaster Firearms (concerning the prospect of liability for […]
The New York Times has a lengthy article on Mick Mulvaney's tenure as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This account of Mulvaney’s tenure is based on interviews with more than 60 current or former bureau employees, current and former Mulvaney aides, consumer advocates and financial-industry executives and lobbyists, as well as hundreds […]
Avant, LLC, an online lending company, has agreed to settle the Federal Trade Commission’s charges that it engaged in deceptive and unfair loan servicing practices, including imposing unauthorized charges on consumers’ accounts and unlawfully requiring consumers to consent to automatic payments from their bank accounts. According to the FTC’s complaint, Avant offers unsecured installment loans […]