Peloton Interactive has agreed to pay a $19 million civil penalty levied by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for failing to report a defect with its Tread+ treadmill promptly. Besides the fine, the company’s settlement with the government agency requires it to file annual reports on the compliance program and system of internal controls for five years.
The settlement also resolves CPSC charges that Peloton knowingly distributed recalled treadmills in violation of federal law from May to August 2021 after being informed of the government agency’s approval of a voluntary corrective action plan. The fitness company had received 150 reports from consumers about the faulty equipment that included broken bones, lacerations, abrasions, and friction bones. But it was not until Peloton received word that a six-year-old child died after being entrapped under the rear of the Tread+ did it report the incidents to the CPSC.
Peloton is currently seeking government approval to add a rear guard to the Tread+, presumably allowing the product to be sold to consumers again.
