Another Piece Of The Wine Prop 65 Settlement Falls Into Place

Jeff Dodd of Dickenson, Peatman & Fogarty sent the following today.

NOTE: The information below was not included in DPF’s article in today’s News Fetch (Prop 65 Lawsuit – Where Are We, How Did We Get Here And Where To Now?)

“I came across the update to your July 31 article on Prop 65 regarding the employer exception.

“You provided a note that there may have been an amendment to the minimum employee exemption under Prop 65 (increasing it to 25 employees from 10).

“I wanted to confirm that as of the last legislative session, the legislature has not passed an amendment to Prop 65 that would exempt alcohol beverage producers with less than 25 employees.

“Assemblymember Jones recently proposed legislation, similar to the Gatto bill passed last October, which would allow a recipient of a Prop 65 violation notice to take corrective measures in order to avoid a lawsuit if they had less than 25 employees.

“However, it does not provide an “exemption” for employers with less than 25 employees; it only allows them to cure the violation by taking certain remedial actions. With that said, it is unlikely that it will pass considering it needs a two thirds approval by the legislature (as all amendments to voter enacted propositions). AB 2361 has still not made it out of committee.

“The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (the regulatory body overseeing Prop 65) submitted a similar, albeit more limited, proposal to AB 2361. These proposed regulations would allow recipients of a Prop 65 violation notice to take corrective measures in order to avoid a lawsuit if they have less than 25 employees.

“Although there is greater likelihood that this new reform will take effect compared with AB 2361, it only applies to retailers, not producers. Thus, wine producers would still bear the responsibility to post and maintain Prop 65 warnings.”

Previous Wine Industry Insight Coverage

• More Useful Wine/Prop 65 Settlement Data Comes To Light
• Prop 65 Settlement Opt-In Details Grow Less Murky
• Court Settlement: Wine Producers Now On Hook For Prop 65 Health Warnings At Retailers