Nation's Largest Rural Lifestyle Retailer to Pay $1.35M Over CCPA Violations

News: September 30, 2025

SACRAMENTO – The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) Board has issued a decision requiring Tractor Supply Company, the nation’s largest rural lifestyle retailer with more than 2,500 stores in 49 states, to change its business practices and pay a $1,350,000 fine to resolve claims that the company violated the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The fine is the largest in the CPPA’s history, and the decision is the first to address the importance of CCPA privacy notices and privacy rights of job applicants.

The CPPA opened an investigation into Tractor Supply’s privacy practices after receiving a complaint from a consumer in Placerville, California. According to the Board’s decision, Tractor Supply violated Californians’ privacy rights by:

Failing to maintain a privacy policy that notified consumers of their rights;
Failing to notify California job applicants of their privacy rights and how to exercise them;
Failing to provide consumers with an effective mechanism to opt-out of the selling and sharing of their personal information, including through opt-out preference signals such as Global Privacy Control; and
Disclosing personal information to other companies without entering into contracts that contain privacy protections.

To resolve the allegations, Tractor Supply agreed to pay $1,350,000, implement broad remedial measures, such as scanning its digital properties to inventory tracking technologies, and require a corporate officer or director to certify compliance annually for the next four years.

The Board’s decision underscores the need for businesses to review their privacy notices and opt-out mechanisms, as well as the need for businesses to protect the privacy of their job applicants, not just their customers. Since 2023, job applicants, employees, and independent contractors have been afforded greater privacy protections.

“We will continue to look broadly across industries to identify violations of California’s privacy law,” said Michael Macko, the Agency’s head of enforcement. “We made it an enforcement priority to investigate whether businesses are properly implementing privacy rights, and this action underscores our ongoing commitment to doing that for consumers and job applicants alike.”

“California’s privacy rights protect everyone in the state, from the Central Valley to the Silicon Valley. We appreciate the members of the public who help us uphold these rights by submitting complaints to the CPPA,” said Tom Kemp, the CPPA’s Executive Director.

The Board’s decision follows on the heels of a separate court case brought against Tractor Supply last month to enforce an investigative subpoena. With today’s resolution, the CPPA’s Enforcement Division will be discontinuing that litigation.