TJX To Pay $13 Million Civil Penalty For Selling Recalled Items

FRAMINGHAM, MA — TJX Companies Inc., known for its retail stores such as T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods has agreed to pay a $13 million civil penalty for selling and distributing previously recalled products. The majority of the products were items for infants and children, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Tuesday.

The agreement settles charges that the company knowingly sold and distributed about 1,200 recalled items from 21 separate voluntary corrective actions over a five-year span from March 2014 to October 2019.

TXJ has also agreed to maintain a compliance program to make sure it meets all the obligations of the law and this settlement going forward. The terms also specify that TJX Companies admitted no guilt for the action and did not "knowingly violate the CPSA."

The majority of the post-recall sales were products recalled due to the risk of infant suffocation and death including the Kids II Rocking Sleepers, Fisher-Price Rock 'n Play Sleepers, and Fisher-Price Inclined Sleeper Accessory for Ultra-Lite Day & Night Play Yards.

For a full list of recalled items that were sold, click here.

On November 26, 2019, CPSC and TJX jointly issued a press release announcing that TJX had sold, offered for sale, and distributed 19 separate recalled products. After the press release was announced, TJX reported to staff that it subsequently discovered previous sales of three additional recalled products.

TJX will also maintain internal controls designed to ensure TJX's compliance with the CPSA, requiring TJX to review claims, report safety concerns, implement corrective and preventive actions when compliance deficiencies or violations are identified, and establish senior management oversight of TJX's compliance program.

"With the market capitalization of the largest retailers calculated in the billions, a penalty of $13M or even $100M could easily become a cost of doing businesses," Commission chair of CPSC Alexander Hoehn-Saric said in a statement assessing the penalty. "In order to best protect the public, I urge Congress to remove or dramatically increase the existing limits on CPSC's civil penalty authority."

Patch has reached out to TJX for comment and will update as soon as we hear back.

TJX has also agreed to file annual reports regarding the compliance program and system of internal controls for a period of 5 years. TJX's settlement of this matter does not include an admission of guilt by TJX, or a determination by the Commission, that TJX knowingly violated the CPSA.

TJX Companies shares went down 2 percent on Tuesday.