Straight talk about preemption.Lawyer jokes and uninformed statements bashing the civil justice system have dogged plaintiff attorneys through many a golf game, PTA PTA or parent-teacher association: see parent education. meeting, or dinner party. When a question about civil justice rears its head, you need to respond with the facts. Q: If companies meet federal safety standards Safety standards are standards designed to ensure the safety of products, activities or processes, etc. They may be advisory or compulsory and are normally laid down by an advisory or regulatory body that may be either voluntary or statutory. for their products, why should they have to turn around and meet another set of more stringent state requirements too? Isn't it fair for manufacturers to meet just one national standard? A: Regulations set by federal regulatory agencies regulatory agency Independent government commission charged by the legislature with setting and enforcing standards for specific industries in the private sector. The concept was invented by the U.S. are, minimum standards, meaning they generally aren't difficult to meet and often don't reach far enough to protect the public. But corporate defendants often argue that if they've complied with federal standards, they shouldn't have to meet stronger, more effective state standards too. The idea that federal law trumps state law is called preemption preemption U.S. policy that allowed the first settlers, or squatters, on public land to buy the land they had improved. Since improved land, coveted by speculators, was often priced too high for squatters to buy at auction, temporary preemptive laws allowed them to acquire . When it's used to allow corporate wrongdoers to put unsafe products on the market, it's bad for consumers. The states are often called the laboratory of government. Their way of doing things frequently produces exceptional results and provides an example for others--including the agencies of the federal government--to follow. So prohibiting the states from setting their own product requirements shuts off this important area of experimentation. Also, individual states can better determine the needs of those living within their borders than the far-flung federal government can. What works in Mississippi may not work in Oregon. Slipping all 50 states into a one-size-fits-all straitjacket straitjacket /strait·jack·et/ (strat´jak?et) informal name for camisole. strait·jack·et or straight·jack·et n. doesn't serve the public well. Meanwhile, corporate interests like the drug, oil, and food industries want pesky state regulations intended to protect the public from deadly pharmaceuticals, excessive pollution, and rotting chickens to disappear. Some federal agencies under the Bush administration have been willing accomplices. For instance, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a final rule that says weak federal mattress flammability flam·ma·ble adj. Easily ignited and capable of burning rapidly; inflammable. [From Latin flamm standards should preempt pre·empt or pre-empt v. pre·empt·ed, pre·empt·ing, pre·empts v.tr. 1. To appropriate, seize, or take for oneself before others. See Synonyms at appropriate. 2. a. state laws that hold mattress manufacturers to a higher standard. Actions like these pose a real threat to consumers' health and well-being. |
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