I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 142 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide for the protection of 

the general public, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 3, 2017 

Mr. CONYERS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide for the 

protection of the general public, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Dangerous Products 

5 Warning Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DANGEROUS PRODUCTS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part 1 of title 18, United States 

8 Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 27 the fol9 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘CHAPTER 28—DANGEROUS PRODUCTS 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘571. Violations. 

‘‘572. Relationship to existing law. 

‘‘573. Construction. 

‘‘574. Definitions for chapter. 

2 ‘‘§ 571. Violations 

3 ‘‘(a) FAILURE TO INFORM AND WARN.—Whoever— 

4 ‘‘(1) is a business entity or a product supervisor 

5 with respect to a product or business practice; 

6 ‘‘(2) knows of a serious danger associated with 

7 such product (or a component of that product) or 

8 business practice; and 

9 ‘‘(3) knowingly fails within 15 days after such 

10 discovery is made (or if there is imminent risk of se11 rious bodily injury or death, immediately) to do any 

12 of the following: 

13 ‘‘(A) To inform an appropriate Federal 

14 agency in writing, unless such product super15 visor has actual knowledge that such an agency 

16 has been so informed. 

17 ‘‘(B) To warn affected employees in writ18 ing, unless such product supervisor has actual 

19 knowledge that such employees have been so 

20 warned. 

21 ‘‘(C) To inform persons other than af22 fected employees at risk if they can reasonably 

23 be identified. 


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1 shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 

2 5 years, or both. 

3 ‘‘(b) RETALIATION.—Whoever knowingly discrimi4 nates against any person in the terms or conditions of em5 ployment or in retention in employment or in hiring be6 cause of such person’s having informed a Federal agency 

7 or warned employees of a serious danger associated with 

8 a product or business practice shall be fined under this 

9 title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. 

10 ‘‘(c) NONPAYMENT BY BUSINESS ENTITIES.—If a 

11 fine is imposed on an individual under this section, such 

12 fine shall not be paid, directly or indirectly, out of the as13 sets of any business entity on behalf of that individual. 

14 ‘‘§ 572. Relationship to existing law 

15 ‘‘(a) RIGHTS TO INTERVENE.—Nothing in this chap16 ter shall be construed to limit the right of any individual 

17 or group of individuals to initiate, intervene in, or other18 wise participate in any proceeding before a regulatory 

19 agency or court, nor to relieve any regulatory agency, 

20 court, or other public body of any obligation, or affect its 

21 discretion to permit intervention or participation by an in22 dividual or group or class of consumers, employees or citi23 zens in any proceeding or activity. 


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1 ‘‘(b) STATE LAW.—Nothing in this chapter preempts 

2 any State law or otherwise affects any State authority to 

3 adopt or enforce any State law. 

4 ‘‘§ 573. Construction 

5 ‘‘This chapter shall be construed in such a manner 

6 as best to represent and protect the interests of the public. 

7 ‘‘§ 574. Definitions for chapter 

8 ‘‘In this chapter— 

9 ‘‘(1) the term ‘product supervisor’— 

10 ‘‘(A) means— 

11 ‘‘(i) an officer or director of a cor12 poration or an association; 

13 ‘‘(ii) a partner of a partnership; or 

14 ‘‘(iii) any employee or other agent of 

15 a corporation, association, or partnership 

16 having duties such that the conduct of 

17 such employee or agent may fairly be as18 sumed to represent the policy of the cor19 poration, association, or partnership; and 

20 ‘‘(B) includes persons having management 

21 responsibility for— 

22 ‘‘(i) submissions to a Federal agency 

23 regarding the development or approval of 

24 any product; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) production, quality assurance, or 

2 quality control of any product; or 

3 ‘‘(iii) research and development of any 

4 product; 

5 ‘‘(2) the term ‘product’ means a product or 

6 service of a business entity that enters or will enter 

7 interstate commerce; 

8 ‘‘(3) the term ‘business entity’ means any cor9 poration, company, association, firm, partnership, or 

10 other business entity or a sole proprietor; 

11 ‘‘(4) the term ‘business practice’ means a meth12 od or practice of manufacturing, assembling, design13 ing, researching, importing or distributing a product 

14 that enters or will enter interstate commerce, con15 ducting, providing or preparing to provide a service 

16 that enters or will enter interstate commerce, or oth17 erwise carrying out business operations related to 

18 products or services that enter or will enter inter19 state commerce; 

20 ‘‘(5) the term ‘serious danger’, used with re21 spect to a product or business practice, means a 

22 danger, not readily apparent to the average person, 

23 that the normal or reasonably foreseeable use of, or 

24 the exposure of a human being to, that product or 


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1 business practice may cause death or serious bodily 

2 injury to a human being; 

3 ‘‘(6) the term ‘serious bodily injury’ means an 

4 impairment of physical condition, including as result 

5 of trauma, repetitive motion or disease, that— 

6 ‘‘(A) creates a substantial risk of death; or 

7 ‘‘(B) causes— 

8 ‘‘(i) serious permanent disfigurement; 

9 ‘‘(ii) unconsciousness; 

10 ‘‘(iii) extreme pain; or 

11 ‘‘(iv) permanent or protracted loss or 

12 impairment of the function of any bodily 

13 member, organ, bodily system, or mental 

14 faculty; 

15 ‘‘(7) the term ‘appropriate Federal agency’ 

16 means any agency with jurisdiction over the product 

17 or business practice; and 

18 ‘‘(8) the term ‘warn affected employees’, used 

19 with respect to a serious danger, means take reason20 able steps to give sufficient description of the serious 

21 danger to all individuals working for or in the busi22 ness entity who are likely to be subject to the serious 

23 danger in the course of that work to make those in24 dividuals aware of that danger.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters 

2 for title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting, 

3 after the item relating to chapter 27 the following: 

‘‘28. Dangerous products ................................................................ 571’’. 

4 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

5 The amendments made by this Act take effect 180 

6 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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