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Companies recalling defective products this fall are under scrutiny from federal regulators implementing the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which imposes fines of up to $15 million on manufacturers and retailers who fail to follow the new law' s strict procedures.

Already, a coalition of small businesses has organized and is speaking out about the costs of the new law in letters to Congress and in publications like The Wall Street Journal. But despite those protests, Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Chairman Inez Tenenbaum has declared that her agency plans to crack down hard on companies that violate the CPSIA.

Under the CPSIA, whistleblower protections have been enhanced and criminal and civil penalties have been dramatically increased. All 50 state attorneys general now have the power to go after companies they perceive to be in violation of CPSIA standards. Prosecution under state laws could add jail time for corporate executives found responsible for non-compliance. Additionally, the new law empowers the CPSC to determine whether a company has communicated effectively during a recall with consumers.

As a start, companies should take the following steps to ensure they are ready to comply with the CPSIA:

1.    Keep detailed records of each product' s manufacturing date, serial number, batch number, and plant so you can easily trace a problem to its source and report it to regulators.

2.    Hire a qualified company in advance that can set up a consumer call-in center in 12 hours or less.

3.    Be ready to fix, collect, store, and dispose of any faulty products. If you require outside help, establish relationships with partners now while there is still time to plan.

4.    Prepare a recall communications plan that can be implemented as soon as a recall is announced. Transparency with consumers and the news media is mandated under the new law.

Federal and state regulators, Congress, plaintiff' s attorneys, and consumer groups now expect manufacturers and retailers to shoulder more of the burden of safeguarding consumer safety. Smart companies will prepare now or face the consequences of a recall that falls short of the CPSIA' s demands.

Gene Grabowski is Senior Vice President of Crisis and Litigation at Levick Strategic Communications, the nation's top crisis communications firm, and a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog.