Safety Act offers security firms legal protection
By Chelsie Woods
Updated Thu January 29, 2004
January 29, 2004
WASHINGTON - A little-known law called the Safety Act that can protect manufacturers and systems integrators of homeland security products from potential lawsuits is just now getting underway.
The Department of Homeland Security has begun accepting applications from manufacturers and systems integrators who want protection under what is considered landmark legislation. Approved as part of the Homeland Security Act in November of 2002, the Safety Act, or Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technology, can protect a company from future litigation should their product or service fail to stop a criminal or terrorist.
It can also provide litigation protection for the customer who deploys a product or service with the Safety Act stamp of approval. But to earn that designation, a company’s product or service must first pass a stringent list of criteria set forth by the DHS.
The legislation was authored by the Washington law firm of McKenna, Long & Aldridge after a number of government defense contractors expressed concerns about liability issues.
An interim set of regulations are currently in place governing Safety Act status. The DHS expects to approve final regulations in the coming months, but in the meantime, the department is accepting applications for a process that takes several months to complete.
For more information about the Safety Act, visit the Department of Homeland Security’s website at www.dhs.gov.
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