15 U.S.C. § 2085 — Low-speed electric bicycles

Page 1770 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 2085 1 So in original. Probably should be capitalized. 2 So in original. 1 See References in Text note below. tiff, the manufacturer of such product shall, in accordance with subsection (c), report to the Commission each such civil action within 30 days after the final settlement or court judg- ment in the third of such civil actions, and, within 30 days after any subsequent settlement or judgment in that 24-month period, any other such action. (b) Calculation of 24-month periods The 24-month periods referred to in subsection (a) are the 24-month period commencing on Jan- uary 1, 1991, and subsequent 24-month periods beginning on January 1 of the calendar year that is two years following the beginning of the previous 24-month period. (c) Information required to be reported (1) The information required by subsection (a) to be reported to the Commission, with respect to each civil action described in subsection (a), shall include and in addition to any voluntary information provided under paragraph (2) shall be limited to the following: (A) The name and address of the manufac- turer. (B) The model and model number or designa- tion of the consumer product subject to the civil action. (C) A statement as to whether the civil ac- tion alleged death or grievous bodily injury, and in the case of an allegation of grievous bodily injury, a statement of the category of such injury. (D) A statement as to whether the civil ac- tion resulted in a final settlement or a judg- ment in favor of the plaintiff. (E) in 1 the case of a judgment in favor of the plaintiff, the name of the civil action, the number assigned the civil action, and the court in which the civil action was filed. (2) A manufacturer furnishing the report re- quired by paragraph (1) may include (A) a state- ment as to whether any judgment in favor of the plaintiff is under appeal or is expected to be ap- pealed or (B) any other information which the manufacturer chooses to provide. A manufac- turer reporting to the Commission under sub- section (a) need not admit or may specifically deny that the information it submits reasonably supports the conclusion that its consumer prod- uct caused a death or grievous bodily injury. (3) No statement of the amount paid by the manufacturer in a final settlement shall be re- quired as part of the report furnished under sub- section (a), nor shall such a statement of settle- ment amount be required under any other sec- tion of this chapter. (d) Report not deemed an admission of liability The reporting of a civil action described in subsection (a) by a manufacturer shall not con- stitute an admission of— (1) an unreasonable risk of injury, (2) a defect in the consumer product which was the subject of such action, (3) a substantial product hazard, (4) an imminent hazard, or (5) any other admission of liability under any statute or under any common law. (e) Definitions For purposes of this section: (1) A grievous bodily injury includes any of the following categories of injury: mutilation, amputation, dismemberment, disfigurement, loss of important bodily functions, debili- tating internal disorder, severe burn, severe electric shock, and injuries likely to require extended hospitalization. (2) For purposes of this section,2 a particular model of a consumer product is one that is dis- tinctive in functional design, construction, warnings or instructions related to safety, function, user population, or other character- istics which could affect the product’s safety related performance. (Pub. L. 92–573, § 37, as added Pub. L. 101–608, title I, § 112(b), Nov. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 3115.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CONGRESSIONAL REPORTS Pub. L. 101–608, title I, § 112(f), Nov. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 3117, provided that: ‘‘(1) The Consumer Product Safety Commission shall report to the Congress on the extent to which reports made to the Commission under section 37 of the Con- sumer Product Safety Act [15 U.S.C. 2084] have assisted the Commission in carrying out its responsibilities under such Act [15 U.S.C. 2051 et seq.]. The report— ‘‘(A) shall provide aggregate data and not the de- tails and contents of individual reports filed with the Commission pursuant to such section 37, ‘‘(B) shall not disclose the brand names of products included in reports under such section 15(b) or 37 [15 U.S.C. 2064(b), 2084] or the number of reports under such sections for particular models or classes of prod- ucts, and ‘‘(C) shall include— ‘‘(i) a comparison of the number of reports re- ceived under such section 37 and the number of re- ports received under section 15(b) of such Act, ‘‘(ii) a comparison of the number of reports filed with the Commission before the date of the enact- ment of this Act [Nov. 16, 1990] and after such date, and ‘‘(iii) the total number of settlements and court judgments reported under such section 37 and the total number of rulemakings and enforcement ac- tions undertaken in response to such reports, ‘‘(iv) recommendations of the Commission for ad- ditional improvements in reporting under the Con- sumer Product Safety Act. ‘‘(2) The first report under paragraph (1) shall be due February 1, 1992, and the second such report shall be due April 1, 1993.’’ § 2085. Low-speed electric bicycles (a) Construction Notwithstanding any other provision of law, low-speed electric bicycles are consumer prod- ucts within the meaning of section 2052(a)(1) 1 of this title and shall be subject to the Commission regulations published at section 1500.18(a)(12) and part 1512 of title 16, Code of Federal Regula- tions. (b) Definition For the purpose of this section, the term ‘‘low- speed electric bicycle’’ means a two- or three- wheeled vehicle with fully operable pedals and Page 1771 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 2087 1 So in original. The comma probably should not appear. an electric motor of less than 750 watts (1 h.p.), whose maximum speed on a paved level surface, when powered solely by such a motor while rid- den by an operator who weighs 170 pounds, is less than 20 mph. (c) Promulgation of requirements To further protect the safety of consumers who ride low-speed electric bicycles, the Com- mission may promulgate new or amended re- quirements applicable to such vehicles as nec- essary and appropriate. (d) Preemption This section shall supersede any State law or requirement with respect to low-speed electric bicycles to the extent that such State law or re- quirement is more stringent than the Federal law or requirements referred to in subsection (a). (Pub. L. 92–573, § 38, as added Pub. L. 107–319, § 1, Dec. 4, 2002, 116 Stat. 2776.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 2052(a)(1) of this title, referred to in subsec. (a), was redesignated section 2052(a)(5) of this title by Pub. L. 110–314, title II, § 235(b)(4), Aug. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 3074. § 2086. Prohibition on industry-sponsored travel Notwithstanding section 1353 of title 31 and section 2076(b)(6) of this title, no Commissioner or employee of the Commission shall accept travel, subsistence, or related expenses with re- spect to attendance by a Commissioner or em- ployee at any meeting or similar function relat- ing to official duties of a Commissioner or an employee, from a person— (1) seeking official action from, doing busi- ness with, or conducting activities regulated by, the Commission; or (2) whose interests may be substantially af- fected by the performance or nonperformance of the Commissioner’s or employee’s official duties. (Pub. L. 92–573, § 39, as added Pub. L. 110–314, title II, § 206(a), Aug. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 3044.) § 2087. Whistleblower protection (a) No manufacturer, private labeler, dis- tributor, or retailer,1 may discharge an em- ployee or otherwise discriminate against an em- ployee with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because the employee, whether at the employee’s initia- tive or in the ordinary course of the employee’s duties (or any person acting pursuant to a re- quest of the employee)— (1) provided, caused to be provided, or is about to provide or cause to be provided to the employer, the Federal Government, or the at- torney general of a State information relating to any violation of, or any act or omission the employee reasonably believes to be a violation of any provision of this chapter or any other Act enforced by the Commission, or any order, rule, regulation, standard, or ban under any such Acts; (2) testified or is about to testify in a pro- ceeding concerning such violation; (3) assisted or participated or is about to as- sist or participate in such a proceeding; or (4) objected to, or refused to participate in, any activity, policy, practice, or assigned task that the employee (or other such person) rea- sonably believed to be in violation of any pro- vision of this chapter or any other Act en- forced by the Commission, or any order, rule, regulation, standard, or ban under any such Acts. (b)(1) A person who believes that he or she has been discharged or otherwise discriminated against by any person in violation of subsection (a) may, not later than 180 days after the date on which such violation occurs, file (or have any person file on his or her behalf) a complaint with the Secretary of Labor alleging such dis- charge or discrimination and identifying the person responsible for such act. Upon receipt of such a complaint, the Secretary shall notify, in writing, the person named in the complaint of the filing of the complaint, of the allegations contained in the complaint, of the substance of evidence supporting the complaint, and of the opportunities that will be afforded to such per- son under paragraph (2). (2)(A) Not later than 60 days after the date of receipt of a complaint filed under paragraph (1) and after affording the complainant and the per- son named in the complaint an opportunity to submit to the Secretary a written response to the complaint and an opportunity to meet with a representative of the Secretary to present statements from witnesses, the Secretary shall initiate an investigation and determine whether there is reasonable cause to believe that the complaint has merit and notify, in writing, the complainant and the person alleged to have committed a violation of subsection (a) of the Secretary’s findings. If the Secretary concludes that there is reasonable cause to believe that a violation of subsection (a) has occurred, the Sec- retary shall accompany the Secretary’s findings with a preliminary order providing the relief prescribed by paragraph (3)(B). Not later than 30 days after the date of notification of findings under this paragraph, either the person alleged to have committed the violation or the com- plainant may file objections to the findings or preliminary order, or both, and request a hear- ing on the record. The filing of such objections shall not operate to stay any reinstatement remedy contained in the preliminary order. Any such hearing shall be conducted expeditiously. If a hearing is not requested in such 30-day period, the preliminary order shall be deemed a final order that is not subject to judicial review. (B)(i) The Secretary shall dismiss a complaint filed under this subsection and shall not conduct an investigation otherwise required under sub- paragraph (A) unless the complainant makes a prima facie showing that any behavior described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (a) was a contributing factor in the unfavorable personnel action alleged in the complaint. (ii) Notwithstanding a finding by the Sec- retary that the complainant has made the show-