Ross Stores Agrees to $3.9 Million Civil Penalty, Internal Compliance Improvements for Failure to Report Drawstrings in Children's Upper Outerwear

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced Friday that Ross Stores Inc., of Pleasanton, Calif., has agreed to pay a $3.9 million civil penalty. The penalty agreement has been accepted provisionally by the commission in a 3-0 vote.

The settlement resolves CPSC staff's charges that from January 2009 to February 2012, Ross knowingly failed to report to CPSC immediately, as required by federal law, that it sold or held for sale, about 23,000 children's upper outerwear garments with drawstrings at the neck or waist. In February 1996, CPSC issued guidelines (which were incorporated into a consensus industry voluntary standard in 1997) to help prevent children from strangling or getting entangled on neck and waist drawstrings in upper garments, such as sweatshirts and jackets. A list of the affected items sold in that period is available on the CPSC's website.