On March 1, Anderson Cooper of 60 Minutes claimed that flooring giant Lumber Liquidators was importing and selling laminate flooring that didn’t meet California Air Resources Board (CARB) standards, despite a label certifying the product. Posing as potential laminate-flooring buyers, members of a TV crew with hidden cameras went to the Chinese factory that produces much of Lumber Liquidators’ laminate flooring. 

When the film crew asked a plant manager if the Lumber Liquidators product bearing the CARB 2 label actually met the standard, the plant manager answered, “No, I have to be honest. It does not meet CARB 2.” After the interview, CBS had samples of flooring tested and found that the company’s flooring did indeed have significantly higher amounts of formaldehyde than the CARB standard allows. During an interview, one of the testers commented that the levels were so high, he thought his test equipment had broken. 

The factory footage was later shown to Lumber Liquidators’ CEO, Robert Lynch, who denied knowing that his company was selling flooring with elevated levels of formaldehyde. He also told Cooper, “If that’s the case, we will be in those companies tomorrow.” 

In a separate matter, Lumber Liquidators is facing criminal prosecution from the Department of Justice for violation of the Lacey Act by importing illegally harvested hardwood logs. These DOJ charges were being researched by an investment firm hoping to short sell Lumber Liquidator stock. It was during this investigation that the improperly labeled, formaldehyde-containing laminate flooring came to light. Lumber Liquidators stock is down about 25% since the report aired.

You can view the 60 Minutes segment here.

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