Dollar General Agrees To Pay Fine for Worker Safety

A settlement has been reached between the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and Dollar General Corp. in regards to federal workplace safety violations. The outcome that has been disclosed is that the Dollar General company has agreed to pay a $12 million penalty and implement extensive safety measures.

These changes include a new and updated safety management system, an increase in the role of new safety managers, and newfound employee participation. The retailer must also promptly address future violations related to blocked exits, fire extinguishers, and storage, with penalties of $100,000 per day for non-compliance.

“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.”

Douglas L. Parker, assistant secretary for OSHA, via yahoo!news

Dollar General has also hired a third-party consultant and auditor for compliance checks and maintains an anonymous hotline for safety concerns. This settlement resolves existing OSHA inspections and aims to ensure worker and customer safety. Dollar General, which has faced numerous OSHA violations since 2017, must make significant operational changes to improve safety standards.

Furthermore, “OSHA has been inspecting Dollar General stores since at least 2010, and has frequently found the company committing the same safety violations — blocked, locked, or unmarked emergency exits, inaccessible electrical panels, and improper use of electrical cords that can cause fire hazards,” according to the Independent.

Dollar General employees have reported poor working conditions, including blocked emergency exits and unsanitary product handling. Despite a 2021 study showing that many employees earn less than $12 an hour, the company announced a $2.4 billion operating profit for fiscal year 2023. In May 2023, shareholders, concerned about numerous OSHA violations and employee complaints, approved a measure to audit worker safety. As OSHA inspections continued, they found minimal improvement, which led to this fine.