Following Failure to Prosecute Individuals Complicit in GM Ignition-Switch Cover-Up, Blumenthal, Casey Re-Introduce Hide No Harm Act

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) introduced the Hide No Harm Act of 2015, legislation that would make it a crime for a corporate officer to knowingly conceal information about a corporate action or product that poses the danger of death or serious physical injury to consumers or workers. Under the legislation, any officer who conceals such information could face up to five years in prison and/or potential fines and any individual who reports potential danger to a federal regulatory agency or officer would be provided a safe harbor from criminal liability. This bill follows the settlement reached last month between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and General Motors (GM), which found no officers criminally liable for knowingly concealing information about a lethal safety defect that has caused more than 120 fatalities.

Blumenthal said, "We cannot continue to condone blatantly deceptive and immoral behavior -- for too long, individuals who deceive the public and cover up information about dangerous or deadly products have gotten away with little to no penalties. This measure would put in place common-sense, long-overdue reforms to ensure officers are held responsible for dishonorable acts that put lives at risk. We cannot afford to repeat cases like GM and Takata where no one was held accountable for actions that resulted in over 120 deaths. We owe it to the victims and their families of the preventable tragedies to ensure that justice will be served for anyone complicit in future cover-ups."

"This legislation will work to provide an additional measure of accountability when dangerous products harm workers," Senator Casey said. "The GM ignition switch recall impacted families across Pennsylvania. The impacted families in Pennsylvania and across the nation deserve justice. This legislative effort is a step in that direction."

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