3 companies penalized for not promptly reporting consumer safety hazards
By APThursday, August 6, 2009
Companies penalized for consumer safety violations
WASHINGTON — Ross Stores Inc. and two other companies have agreed to pay a total of about $1.3 million in civil penalties for failure to report safety hazards promptly, government officials announced Wednesday.
Ross, of Pleasanton, Calif., will pay $500,000 for failing to promptly report sales of children’s sweat shirts with drawstrings through the neck, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said.
These drawstrings can get caught in nearby objects and cause children to get trapped or strangled.
The company denies knowingly violating the law.
In addition Wagner Spray Tech Corp. of Plymouth, Minn., and Techtronic Industries Co. LTD of Hong Kong agreed to pay an $800,000 civil penalty to settle a federal suit filed in Minnesota.
The suit alleged that the companies did not promptly report the potential for select cordless battery chargers to overheat.
The company denies violating the law requiring it to immediately report the product’s flaws.
On the Net: www.cpsc.gov.
