CPSC Announces Stakeholder Roundtable on May 25, 2022 to Hear from Public on New Equity Action Plan

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U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Apr 14, 2022, 07:33 ET

Joins Over Ninety Federal Agencies Releasing Equity Action Plans

WASHINGTON, April 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced a public forum for all interested stakeholders to discuss its newly released Equity Action Plan, which was created in response to Executive Order 13985 – "Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government." The CPSC Equity Action Plan Roundtable will give the public an opportunity to discuss steps the agency can take to better address existing racial disparities in injury rates and deaths caused by certain consumer products. The CPSC Equity Action Plan Roundtable will also focus on best practices to learn from, and communicate with, underserved communities regarding product safety hazards.

https://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Releases/2022/CPSC-Announces-Stakeholder-Roundtable-on-May-25-2022-to-Hear-from-Public-on-New-Equity-Action-Plan-Joins-Over-Ninety-Federal-Agencies-Releasing-Equity-Action-Plans

The CPSC Equity Action Plan Roundtable, which will be formally noticed in the Federal Register in the coming days, will be held at the CPSC in Bethesda, Maryland, on May 25, 2022, at 1 p.m., with an option for virtual participation. It will be open to the public. The CPSC Equity Action Plan Roundtable will allow all interested stakeholders to provide CPSC staff with feedback on the newly released Equity Action Plan to assist CPSC in protecting the public via regulation, enforcement, and education from unreasonable risks of injury and death involving consumer products.

"In an effort to equitably serve all consumers, CPSC is focused on improving our data collection to better assess disparities and our efforts to reach the communities that are most in need," said CPSC Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric. "I encourage everyone to participate in the CPSC Equity Action Plan Roundtable to help us listen to, and learn from, those most impacted by these inequities."

The agency's Equity Action Plan lays out challenges and barriers to achieving more equitable outcomes with respect to product safety and steps the agency can take to address the identified barriers. The identified issues include that Black Americans are a higher risk of death from generator-related carbon monoxide poisoning, pool and spa drowning, and residential fires.

In addition, CPSC's Equity Action Plan commits to agency-wide staff training about equity, public education about hazards, improvements in the quality of our data about injuries, seeking to expand personnel with expertise in underserved communities, standards development (both voluntary and mandatory) to prevent hazards, new demographically informed, targeted enforcement and investigation actions, outreach to impacted communities to gather information and feedback, and new research to learn more about underserved communities.

CPSC will provide more information about recent notable equity-related accomplishments and new equity initiatives in the weeks to come. For details, questions, and registration information about the CPSC Equity Action Plan Forum please contact CPSC's Consumer Ombudsman at [email protected].

To read the full CPSC Equity Action Plan

To learn more about government-wide equity efforts: https://www.performance.gov/equity

CPSC is also working on advancing the agency's internal diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) efforts in response to Executive Order 14035 (Federal Register :: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce).

About the U.S. CPSC
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risk of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product-related incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products has contributed to a decline in the rate of injuries associated with consumer products over the past 50 years.

Federal law prohibits any person from selling products subject to a Commission ordered recall or a voluntary recall undertaken in consultation with the CPSC.

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