In 2016, the Labor Department reported violations at factories supplying Ross, and Ross said it was working with the agency and required suppliers to follow its standards. In 2018 and 2019, the Garment Worker Center alleged low wages and sweatshop conditions, and protested at Ross sites. Ross said it did not control subcontractors’ pay; in 2018 it also said it had dropped some noncompliant vendors.
The protests are part of the GWC’s “Pay Up, Ross” campaign...The labor organization alleges that Ross Stores has a long record of underpaying workers and allowing sweatshop conditions in workplaces....
Connie Wong, a spokeswoman for Ross, said in an email that the company is working with the Labor Department to make sure that suppliers understand the law.
Nuncio said the Department of Labor's investigation showed that Ross failed to pay sufficient contract prices for its garment orders, which made it impossible for factory owners to comply with the local minimum wage.
Nuncio said the...investigation showed that Ross failed to pay sufficient contract prices for its garment orders, which made it impossible for factory owners to comply with the local minimum wage. She said four Garment Worker Center members received judgments for a total of $849,104 in owed wages earned while producing clothing for Ross and other companies...
In 2013, the Consumer Product Safety Commission accepted a settlement requiring Ross Stores and affiliated entities to pay a $3.9 million civil penalty over staff charges involving about 23,000 children’s garments with drawstrings sold or held for sale from 2009 to 2012, and alleged failures to report promptly. Ross denied the charges and said the settlement was not an admission; it reported no known injuries.
In September 2009, Ross paid a civil penalty in the amount of $500,000 to settle staff charges that the Firm failed to report four children's upper outerwear products that it distributed in commerce during various periods in 2006, 2007, and 2008. Throughout the course of that civil penalty matter, Ross received repeated reminders about the drawstring hazards and applicable law.
On multiple occasions, and during various periods from January 2009 to February 2012, Ross sold and/or held for sale, 12 series of various styles, models, and quantities of children's upper outerwear products with drawstrings at the neck and/or waist, for a total of approximately 23,000 garments, including, but not limited to, the following: Children's Apparel Network, Ltd. (Children's Apparel) Young Hearts hooded sweater; Byer California (Byer) Girls cargo pocket jacket with neck and waist drawstring; Puma North America Inc. (Puma) USA V-Kon training jacket with waist drawstrings; LA Fashion Hub, Inc., jacket with neck drawstring; LA Fashion jacket with neck drawstrings; Umbro International, Ltd., jacket with waist drawstrings; Hot Chocolate Athletic set jacket with waist drawstrings; Bonded Apparel hooded fleece jacket with neck drawstrings; Me Jane/Louise Paris Ltd., fur hood fleece with waist drawstring; MeJane Louise Paris, Ltd., fur hood bubble jacket with waist drawstrings; LANY Group LLC terry hooded sweatshirt with neck drawstring; and YMI Jeanswear hooded sweatshirt with neck drawstrings. The products identified in this paragraph are collectively referred to as “Garments.”
On March 22, 2012, the Justice Department announced a settlement resolving allegations that Ross Stores discriminated based on citizenship status at its San Ysidro, California, store during employment verification. The department also alleged Ross rejected a work-authorized applicant’s genuine work document and demanded a green card. Ross agreed to reinstate her, pay back pay and penalties, train HR staff, and undergo 18 months of monitoring.
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Ross Stores Inc., resolving allegations that the company had engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on citizenship status while verifying employment eligibility at its store in San Ysidro, Calif. The department also alleged that Ross Stores discriminated against a work-authorized individual when it refused to honor a genuine work authorization document and requested that she produce a green card, despite the fact that the company did not require U.S. citizens to show specific work authorization documents.
Ross Stores agreed to a $3.335 million settlement announced in December 2020 after California prosecutors alleged that stores mishandled and illegally disposed of hazardous waste, including sending it to unsuitable landfills between 2014 and 2017. The judgment includes penalties, investigation costs and environmental projects; Ross may receive a $600,000 credit for qualifying additional work and must conduct waste audits and strengthen compliance
ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA — Ross Stores will pay $3.3 million to settle allegations it disposed of hazardous wastes illegally, Alameda County prosecutors announced Wednesday.
District Attorney Investigators from Monterey County and Alameda County conducted initial undercover waste audits at Ross facilities and found unauthorized waste, such as electronic devices, batteries, mercury-containing CFL lamps, aerosol products, cleaning agents, and other flammable, toxic, and corrosive materials. Further waste audits and other investigation conducted by the District Attorneys of Alameda, Monterey, Riverside, San Joaquin, and Yolo Counties, with assistance from the San Diego, San Bernardino, San Francisco, and Ventura County District Attorney’s Offices and local environmental regulatory officials, revealed that Ross had been sending regulated hazardous wastes from stores to local landfills throughout California. The investigation also revealed violations related to the storage and transport of hazardous waste and employee training requirements regarding hazardous waste handling.
OpenSecrets’ archived profiles attributed Ross Stores’ reported political contributions to individuals associated with the company, not the organization itself. Contributions favored Democrats in several recent cycles, including 84.91% of $30,584 in 2024; the 2014 and 2012 totals favored Republicans. The profile reported no federal lobbying or outside spending for the 2024 cycle.
The California Air Resources Board said Ross failed to verify that hired or dispatched vehicles complied with the Truck and Bus Regulation and did not meet recordkeeping requirements. Ross agreed to the violations and signed a settlement on January 21, 2016, agreeing to a $38,250 penalty and regulatory compliance.
An investigation by the ARB showed that Ross Stores, Inc. (Ross) failed to verify that each hired or dispatched vehicle was in compliance with the Truck and Bus Regulation at the time of hire and that Ross failed to comply with the record keeping requirements of the regulation. Ross has agreed in principal with the violations and signed a settlement agreement on January 21, 2016. A penalty of $28,688.00 will be paid to the California Air Pollution Control Fund, and $9,562.00 to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District for the School Bus Diesel Emission Reduction SEP.
On February 24, 2016, the Labor Department announced a consent judgment requiring YN Apparel, a primary clothing supplier for Ross Stores, to pay $212,000 in back wages to 270 subcontractor employees for minimum-wage and overtime violations. The judgment also requires contractor monitoring and wage-compliance measures; the release describes agency engagement with retailers, not a judgment against Ross.
Evidence supporting the division’s findings in this case included detailed analysis conducted by investigators to determine whether prices YN paid to its contractors for their goods were sufficient to enable the contractors to pay their workers legally-required wages, when all overhead costs were taken into account. This analysis showed that, to pay their workers in compliance with the FLSA, the prices the contractors received from YN for their garments would have needed to be up to three times the prices they were actually paid. The analysis further showed that for YN to have paid these contractors amounts sufficient to pay their workers properly, YN would have needed to receive double the price it was paid by its retailer, Ross Stores.
The California Air Resources Board said Ross sold TIGI Catwalk Finishing Hairspray with VOC concentrations above California’s 55% limit for the product category. The agency said excess emissions were about 0.20 tons; Ross settled the case on November 11, 2015, paying $4,500.
On November 11, 2015, a case was settled with Ross Stores for selling “TIGI Catwalk Finishing Hairspray” subject to the VOC limit for the Hair Styling Products: Hair Finishing” category, title 17, California Code of Regulations, section 94509(a). The products contained concentrations of VOC’s exceeding the 55 percent by weight VOC limit for the category. Excess emissions in this case were approximately 0.20 tons. The company paid $4,500.00 to settle the case.