Proposition 65

California’s Proposition 65 places substantial obligations on businesses with operations in California, as well as manufacturers, suppliers, importers, distributors, and retailers of products for California consumers. Proposition 65’s warning obligations can be triggered by any one of over 900 chemicals listed by the State of California as potentially causing cancer or reproductive harm, making compliance a challenge for businesses. Failure to comply with Proposition 65 can result in substantial monetary liabilities, including civil penalties of up to $2,500 per day for each violation.

Our Prop 65 team has decades of experience and benefits from the expertise of colleagues in Stoel Rives’ top-ranked Environmental practice group. Businesses receiving 60-Day Notices of Violation often seek our team to defend them in cases involving complex scientific issues and chemicals newly added to the Proposition 65 list. Our attorneys have defended countless businesses against private “bounty hunter” lawsuits, as well as against claims by public enforcers such as the Attorney General.

We actively monitor the activities of the California agency tasked with implementing Prop 65, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA). When new chemicals are considered for listing, we inform you about how and when to take action. Beyond ensuring legal compliance, we help businesses address customer questions like, “what is Proposition 65,” “why does your product have a cancer warning,” “is your product safe,” and “why am I seeing this warning outside California.”

We also advise on related federal and state chemicals laws and regulations, such as the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA), the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), Oregon’s Toxic-Free Kids Act, and state per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) bans.

We’ve advised clients on, and defended clients in actions involving: