By Rob Wile
TJ Maxx has agreed to pay a $13 million fine for selling a number of recalled products, including Fisher-Price
Rock 'n Play Sleepers
, an item linked to at least 30 infant deaths since 2009.
The settlement resolves allegations that -- from March 2014 through October 2019 -- TJ Maxx knowingly sold, offered and distributed products that were part of 21 different recalls.
While the US government says
Rock 'n Play Sleepers
were linked to 30 deaths, a Congressional report last year found that more than 50 babies died using the product before it was withdrawn from the market in 2019.
Shoppers enter a TJ Maxx store in New Hampshire in 2019.AP
The report accused Fisher-Price of keeping the sleep chair on the market for a decade as it earned $200 million in revenue from the product, despite the company's knowledge of safety concerns and associated infant deaths. to the product.
TJ Maxx is also accused of selling the now-recalled Kids II rocking bed, which has been linked to at least five infant deaths.
[Pediatricians publish new guidelines on how babies should sleep and call to avoid co-sleeping due to the risk of death]
In a statement to NBC News, TJX Companies assured:
“We deeply regret that in some cases between 2014 and 2019,
recalled products were not properly removed from our sales floors despite the processes we had in place.
We have made a significant investment in people, processes and technology to strengthen our procedures, and we have fully cooperated with the Consumer Product Safety Commission."
Lyons Magnus oat milk and other products recalled due to possible contamination
Aug. 2, 202200:56
TJX Companies owns TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods, among other discount retail brands.
The settlement announced Tuesday does not constitute an admission by TJ Maxx that it knowingly violated the federal Consumer Product Safety Act.
However, the company has agreed to maintain a compliance program and system of internal controls to ensure that it complies with the law.