Two decisions on product liability pre-emption cases handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court last month—one finding in favor of pre-emption, the other against—serve as the latest end-zones for the complex field of compliance with federal safety regulations.

Jaclyn Jaeger is a freelance contributor to Compliance Week after working for the company for 15 years. She writes on a wide variety of topics, including ethics and compliance, risk management, legal,...