Held v. Red Steer Glove Company

On December 12, 2014, the parties executed an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved the allegations that whistleblower Anthony E. Held, Ph.D, P.E., made against settling party Red Steer Glove Company (“Red Steer”).  In this matter, Held alleged that Red Steer sold gloves with vinyl/PVC components containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Red Steer agreed not to sell any gloves with vinyl/PVC components in California after December 15, 2014, unless the gloves contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Red Steer provide written certification by February 1, 2015, that all gloves with vinyl/PVC components qualify as reformulated, Held agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. Held

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $39,500, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Held and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.