Ross Stores Agrees to $3.9 Million Civil Penalty, Internal Compliance Improvements for Failure to Report Drawstrings in Children's Upper Outerwear
"Ross is a repeat violator," Tenenbaum said. "In 2009, it paid a civil penalty of $500,000 for violating the same law, Section 15 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). Neither the fine nor the supposed remedial measures Ross implemented on its own initiative following that settlement was sufficient to prevent the continued sale of defective garments. Vendors who were contractually obligated to provide compliant products continuously failed to do so; internal policies prohibiting the purchase, inventory, and sale of garments with drawstrings were equally ineffective. Regardless of what Ross's management may have wanted to believe about the effectiveness of their policies, they clearly did not work. Moreover, the fact that Ross did not design, manufacture, or import the garments did not relieve it of the obligation to ensure that they comply with all applicable safety statutes and regulations."