On September 11th, 2023, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) published a final rule implementing Reese’s Law. The intent of the law and CPSC ruling is to prevent childhood choking and ingestion hazard from coin cell batteries. In the lighting and ceiling fan industries, this typically impacts handheld remote controls.
Products utilizing coin cell batteries must comply with the performance and labelling requirements of UL4200A-2023. This safety standard is intended to supplement other safety requirements for products that incorporate button batteries or coin cell batteries, and are not intended to supersede specific requirements that are incorporated into other safety standards to mitigate physiological hazards from coin cell batteries.
There are industry reports that large retailers have started to ask for a specific test report, separate from safety certification, that a product utilizing such batteries complies with UL 4200A-2023.
Consumer products containing coin batteries that are manufactured or imported after October 23, 2023 must comply with this direct final rule. However, in recognition of limited testing availability and for the avoidance of hardship, the Commission is granting a 180-day transitional period of enforcement discretion from September 21, 2023, through March 19, 2024. The Federal Register publication of the CPSC final rule is available here.
Image: FlexTec RGB Handheld Remote
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