Solano County District Attorney Krishna A. Abrams said her office, along with 33 other California district attorneys and city attorneys, has reached a settlement for violations of hazardous waste regulations with Ulta Beauty Inc., a nationwide beauty store chain.
Announced Monday in a press release, the settlement includes $752,000 in civil penalties, supplemental environmental projects, and costs, noted Abrams, adding that Ulta has 161 stores statewide, three of them in Solano County, in Vacaville, Fairfield and Vallejo.
The settlement followed an investigation by prosecutors of Ulta stores located within California for improper storage, handling and disposal of hazardous and other regulated waste, as well as inadequate employee training, she pointed out in the press statement.
Additionally, Ulta, which reported $4.9 billion in revenue in 2016, failed to take adequate steps to protect the confidentiality of their customers’ information by unlawfully disposing of customer records without making them unreadable, she added.
The settlement includes a final judgment and permanent Injunction, requiring Ulta, a Bolingbrook, Il., firm, to pay $439,500 in civil penalties, $250,000 in plaintiffs’ costs and $62,500 in supplemental environmental projects.
The company, founded in 1990 and led by CEO David C. Kimbell, must also implement certain compliance assurance programs.
The settlement was filed on Sept. 15 in Solano County Superior Court and signed by Judge Alesia Jones.
In full cooperation with the collective DAs’ investigation, Ulta stores in California have “adopted and implemented new policies and procedures and enhanced existing training programs designed to properly manage and dispose of hazardous waste products, other regulated waste, and confidential customer consumer information,” Abrams wrote in the release.
“Protecting the environment is a top priority of our office, but equally important is the protection of consumer privacy rights,” she said. “We believe this settlement achieves both of these goals by mandating safer practices and preserving customers’ confidential information.”
