As part of an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor, Dollar General will pay $12 million to settle workplace safety violations brought by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
The corporate-wide settlement was announced July 11. Under it, the discount variety store chain will also implement “significant” improvements to its 19,000 stores nationwide.
The resolution stems from investigations involving repeated unsafe storage practices that prevented access to electrical panels, emergency exits and fire extinguishers, and haphazard storage of merchandise, the DOL said. Within New Jersey, the brand has 150-plus locations.
The new agreement requires the Tennessee-based retailer to hire additional safety managers, significantly reduce its inventory, and increase stocking efficiency to prevent blocked exits and clutter. It also must provide safety and health training to all employees as well as develop a safety and health committee with employee participation.
According to the DOL, Dollar General has:
- Hired third-party consultants and auditors to identify hazards and perform unannounced annual compliance audits;
- Created a new Safety Operations Center; and
- Maintained an anonymous hotline for employees and the public to report safety concerns.
Going forward, Dollar General must address hazards within 48 hours or face fines of $100,000 per day of violation up to $500,000 maximum. Dollar General must also monitor the results of actions required under the settlement and report them to OSHA quarterly for the next two years, as part of the agreement.
Repeat offender
OSHA has reportedly fined the retailer more than
$21 million for safety-related violations since 2017 . That does not include the $12 million penalty announced last week.
A repeat offender with the DOL, Dollar General became the
first company added to OSHA’s workplace safety rules “severe violators” list last year. The new program targets businesses that have “demonstrated indifference” through repeated or willful violations of policies.
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See also:
In November, Dollar General agreed to pay New Jersey $1.2 million to resolve allegations that it repeatedly engaged in merchandise pricing violations at several stores across the state. Click here to read more. [/box]
In response to the company’s numerous OSHA violations and employee complaints, shareholders voted in May 2023 to
conduct a third-party audit of worker safety. Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Douglas Parker said in a statement, "This agreement commits Dollar General to making worker safety a priority by implementing significant and systematic changes in its operations to improve accountability and compliance, and it gives Dollar General employees essential input on ensuring their own health and safety.”
"These changes help give peace of mind to thousands of workers, knowing that they are not risking their safety in their workplaces and that they will come home healthy at the end of each day,” Parker said.
A spokesperson for Dollar General told Retail Dive the company is “pleased to have reached an agreement with OSHA to resolve these matters.” They also said Dollar General remains “committed to ensuring a safe working environment for our employees and a pleasant shopping experience for our customers.”
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