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April 10, 2023: Discount retailer Dollar General has been found to violating federal workplace safety regulations once again, with the Department of Labor stating that it “willfully exposed” staff to fire hazards at a store in Pennsylvania. An inspection was conducted following a complaint to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and discovered “dangerous safety hazards” at the Jersey Shore store, including blocked emergency exit routes and electrical panels. The hazards were similar to those found in other stores operated by the company, which has been investigated more than 180 times by OSHA for jeopardizing worker safety.
Dollar General has been fined $15m for safety violations since 2017, yet despite repeated penalties, the company “continues to defy federal workplace safety requirements,” according to the DOL. A spokesperson for the company said that they “regularly review and refine” safety programs and that when failures are identified, the company works to address them.
OSHA issued a citation for one willful violation and one repeat violation with $245,544 in proposed penalties for the issues at the Pennsylvania store. The company has 15 business days to pay the fines, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Still, the fines are unlikely to significantly affect the company’s balance sheet. In fiscal 2022, the company reported sales of $37.84bn and a net income of $2.41bn.
Last week, OSHA revealed that Dollar General was in settlement talks with federal regulators after being labelled a “severe violator” of workplace safety rules. The company was the first to be added to the “severe violators” list last autumn after OSHA expanded the reach of one of its longstanding safety enforcement programs.
