Dollar General safety violation charges continue to mount
ATLANTA — Just weeks after being cited with federal safety violations, Dollar General Corp. and Dolgencorp LLC have once again exposed workers to unsafe conditions, this time at two store locations in Florida and another in Alabama.
On June 26, 2022, inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found stores in Middleburg and Green Cove Springs, Fla., had merchandise blocking exit routes, exposing workers to fire and entrapment hazards. OSHA issued citations for two repeat violations, with $196,438 in proposed penalties.
Less than a month later — on July 13, 2022 — OSHA inspectors again found merchandise blocking exit routes at a Dollar General store, this time in Double Springs, Ala. They found the company allowed boxes and merchandise to be stockpiled in an unstable manner, exposing workers to struck-by hazards. OSHA issued citations for two repeat violations, with $205,117 in proposed penalties.
In the past 11 months, OSHA inspections at 19 stores in Alabama, Florida and Georgia have identified dozens of similar violations. These types of hazards present serious risks for employees and others in an emergency, as well as the potential for them to be struck by unsafely stacked boxes in storerooms and elsewhere.
Since 2017, OSHA has issued more than $15 million in fines and cited Dollar General Corp. and Dolgencorp for numerous willful, repeat and serious workplace safety violations related to unsafe conditions in more than 180 inspections nationwide.
“Dollar General’s growing record of disregard for safety measures makes it abundantly clear that the company puts profit before people,” OSHA Regional Administrator Kurt Petermeyer in Atlanta said. “These violations are preventable, and failing to prevent them shows a blatant disregard for the workers on whom they depend to keep their stores operating. OSHA continues to make every effort to hold Dollar General accountable for its failures.”
Based in Goodlettsville, Tenn., Dollar General Corp. and Dolgencorp LLC operate about 18,000 stores and 17 distribution centers in 47 states and employ more than 150,000 workers.
Dollar General has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’S area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.