Moore v. School Specialty, Inc.

On January 8, 2016, the parties involved in the case Moore v. School Specialty, Inc. executed a Consent Judgment.  In this matter, citizen enforcer John Moore alleged that School Specialty, Inc. (“School Specialty”) sold vinyl/PVC coated backpacks and headphones 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 agreement, School Specialty agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC coated backpacks or headphones with vinyl/PVC components in California after January 1, 2016, unless the headphones and/or backpacks contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.  All current inventory shall be sold with Proposition 65 warnings.  Moore has agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalty should School Specialty provide Moore with certification that all vinyl/PVC coated backpacks and headphones with vinyl/PVC components sold in California qualify as reformulated by January 15, 2016.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $90,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Moore and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.