County of Los Angeles Department of Consumer Affairs New Consumer Laws 2009

Back to Home page

RECALLED GOODS – CANNOT SELL THEM IN CALIFORNIA

AB 1860, Health & Safety Code 108040

This new law prohibits the sale of recalled and unsafe consumer goods in California. Federal law, however, exempts most goods, including food, drugs, cosmetics, pesticides, medical devices, firearms and ammunition, boats, motor vehicles and equipment, aircraft, and tobacco or tobacco products.

These are the main provisions of this new law:

Recalled and unsafe products – This law prohibits commercial dealers, manufacturers, importers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers from manufacturing, remanufacturing, distributing, or selling a product that is unsafe. A product is unsafe if it has been recalled because:

• It does not meet state or federal laws and regulations, or
• It is unsafe and is recalled in cooperation with the Federal Consumer Product Safety Commission, or it has been voluntarily recalled for any safety hazard and the recall has not been rescinded.

Retrofitted products – This law allows a recalled product to be sold if it is retrofitted and is accompanied at the time of sale by a notice that contains:

• A description of the problem that made the product unsafe,
• A description of the retrofit explaining how the problem was fixed, and that the product is now safe to use,
• The name and address of the entity that made and certified the retrofit,
• If the consumer is to do the retrofitting, he or she must be provided with a retrofit kit with the product at the time of sale. The kit must include instructions on how to do the retrofit.

Notices – This law requires a commercial dealer, manufacturer, importer, distributor, or wholesaler that receives a notice of recall or warning from a federal or state agency to do the following within 24 hours of notice:

• Provide a copy of the notice to all customers to whom it sold the product.
• Post on its Website the recall notice, return policy, and a picture and description of the recalled item.

A retailer that receives a recall notice or warning regarding a product it sells, has to do the following within 3 days:

• Remove the product from the store shelves or program the registers to prevent the sale of the product.
• If the retailer sold the product on its website, remove the product from the site, and post on the homepage a link to the recall notice or warning.
• Second-hand stores have 5 days to give these notices.

A violation of this law is subject to a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for each occurrence, up to a maximum of $20,000.

For more information:
County of Los Angeles Department of Consumer Affairs
B-96 Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration
500 W. Temple Street * Los Angeles, CA 90012-2706
Telephone (800) 593-8222 (within the County) * (213) 974-1452
Web site: dca.lacounty.gov