By Debra Rade on December 24, 2011
It’s a “real life” Christmas story for members of the Board of Chicagoland Toys for Tots. According to a Chicago Sun Times report (12/20/11), the story began in April 2011 when the Board learned that at least $25,000 had been embezzled. Ordinarily, the charity buys about 20,000 toys each Christmas and distributes them to Chicagoland’s […]
Posted in Corporate Governance, Policies & Compliance, General Counsel & Corporate, Not for Profit
By Debra Rade on August 3, 2011
Last week, the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) charged London-based Diageo plc with “widespread violations” of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). In settlement of these charges, Diageo agreed to “cease and desist from further violations and pay $11,306,081 in disgorgement, prejudgment interest of $2,067,739, and a financial penalty of $3 million.” For those who […]
Posted in Corporate Governance, Policies & Compliance, General Counsel & Corporate | Tagged #FCPA #Diageo #India #Thailand #South Korea
By Debra Rade on July 26, 2011
Death penalty as deterrent for corporate corruption? The U.S. has the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The UK has its Anti-Bribery Act of 2010. Not surprisingly, China has its own ways of dealing with corruption. In China, the penalty you pay may well be your life. The New York Times reported that a former China Mobile […]
Posted in Corporate Governance, Policies & Compliance, General Counsel & Corporate | Tagged #China, #corruption, #death penalty
By Debra Rade on June 22, 2011
It’s a new era for manufacturers, importers & retailers in Canada. With Royal Assent, the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA) came into force on June 20, 2011. Everyone making or selling consumer products for the Canadian market should be mindful of these new laws requiring “incidents” to be reported to Health Canada upon “becoming […]
Posted in Product Safety & Regulatory | Tagged #canadian consumer product safety act, #ccpsa, #childrens products, #CPSIA
By Debra Rade on June 8, 2011
Are the folks in Maine more interested in children’s safety than, let’s say, California or Texas? On June 3, 2011, the Maine State Legislature finalized amendments to its Toxic Chemicals in Children’s Products Act of 2008, known (in Maine, that is) as the Kid Safe Products Act. We will recall that there was a flurry […]
Posted in Product Safety & Regulatory | Tagged #bpa, #childrens products, #CPSIA, #toysafety, cpsc
By Debra Rade on June 2, 2011
Referencing the beginning of the 2011 hurricane season, the Internal Revenue Service encourages individuals and businesses to safeguard their tax and business records against natural disasters by taking several simple steps discussed below. It’s ironic that the IRS is referencing hurricane season when the significant devastation from deadly tornadoes has been most prominent in […]
Posted in Corporate Governance, Policies & Compliance, General Counsel & Corporate, Not for Profit | Tagged #business records, #hurricane, #IRS, #records retention, #tornado
By Debra Rade on April 15, 2011
SaferProducts.gov went live on March 11, 2011, on time and on budget according to CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), manufacturers, lawyers, legislators, and consumer organizations have been the primary actors with regard to this database, and there has been a substantial amount of disagreement among them. Ironically, it would seem […]
Posted in Product Safety & Regulatory | Tagged consumersafety, cpsc, nam.org, national manufacturers association, product safety, saferproducts.gov
By Debra Rade on March 25, 2011
Today we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. The fire claimed the lives of 146 workers in New York, mostly young female immigrants from Europe working long hours for low wages, who died because of inadequate safety precautions and lack of fire escapes. This sad event helped to galvanize a movement […]
Posted in Product Safety & Regulatory | Tagged fire safety, nfpa, standards, standards development, triangle shirtwaist factory fire, underwriters laboratories
By Debra Rade on March 15, 2011
Came across an interesting consumer product issue. Here’s a news report about a grandmother complaining that a product she wanted to purchase had the following warning on its: “Warning: Contains lead. May be harmful if eaten or chewed. May generate dust containing lead.” Why did the manufacturer place that warning on a label? Most likely, […]
Posted in Product Safety & Regulatory, Uncategorized
By Debra Rade on March 15, 2011
Please consider joining me at the Practising Law Institute’s Corporate and Ethics Institute 2011 in Chicago on May 12-13, 2011. The schedule includes: Hot Topics and Global Trends in Compliance and Ethics Standards and Procedures: The First Element of an Effective Program Effective Communications and Training Board Oversight and Program Structure: Responding to the Guidelines’ […]
Posted in Corporate Governance, Policies & Compliance | Tagged Board Oversight, Corporate Compliance, Corporate Ethics, Corporate Governance, PLI, Practicing Law Institute
