Ex-Employee Claims Floor & Decor Deceived Consumers about Chinese-Made Laminate, Reports CBS Denver

Highlands Ranch, CO, February 24, 2017—Floor & Decor has settled a $14 million class action lawsuit over claims it was acting unethically in the sale of Chinese-made laminate flooring, tampering with labeling relating to country of origin and compliance with formaldehyde limits, reports CBS Denver.

CBS Denver reporter Mark Ackerman spoke to a former Floor & Décor employee about the misconduct, “At best, this was deceptive to the public,” said former Floor and Décor employee Scott England. “This seemed to be very deceptive behavior.”

England alleges that the company relabeled Chinese-made laminate flooring at the Highlands Ranch Floor and Décor store in 2015 where he worked as assistant manager.

England said the company reacted quickly after a 60 Minutes report about Lumber Liquidators; just days later, England said employees at his store were offered unlimited overtime to black out the words “Made in China” and “California 93120 Compliant for Formaldehyde” on laminate flooring from China and reports that they were instructed to replace the labels with new ones with no mention of formaldehyde compliance.

That done, they slashed prices on the flooring by 60%. What didn’t sell quickly was trashed. “Thousands of square feet, pallets of materials were thrown away,” England told CBS Denver. Surveillance video backs up England’s story, showing workers disposing of the flooring, and England further reports that crews from out-of-state were brought in to dump any remaining Chinese-made laminate flooring that had not sold. England reports that he was later fired for being late to work.

An employee at the company’s Arvada, Colorado store, who remains unnamed, reports that the same thing happened at her store.

The settlement, Smith, et al. v. Floor & Decor Outlets of America, Inc., states, “If you own Chinese-made laminate flooring sold by Floor & Decor between January 1, 2012 and August 1, 2015, you may qualify to receive benefits from a class action settlement.”

As part of the settlement, Floor and Décor did not admit any fault and has always contended its products are safe.

Floor & Décor issued this statement:

“In early 2015, Floor & Decor re-labeled certain laminate flooring products to remove labels referencing a standard applicable only to flooring sold in California. Extensive independent testing of these products has confirmed they were and are safe. Floor & Decor has an industry-leading compliance program, utilizing independent, third party inspectors and laboratories to ensure the safety and quality of its products.”

People who purchased Chinese made laminate from Floor and Décor may be eligible for a cash reimbursement or store credit. Claims must be postmarked by March 7, 2017.”