Dollar General has agreed to pay $12 million in penalties and improve workplace safety at its discount stores nationwide as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) over allegations of unsafe storage, blocked electrical panels and other safety violations.
“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.”
The settlement, with the DOL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), resolves multiple alleged violations such as unsafe storage, blocked emergency exits and fire extinguishers, and blocked electrical panels, according to the release.
Dollar General, which operates 19,000 stores nationwide, has agreed to establish and maintain an “expanded safety structure and a robust safety and health management system,” and hiring additional safety managers, the DOL said.
The Tennessee-based retailer must also significantly slash inventory and increase stocking efficiency across its stores to prevent exits from being blocked and unsafe material storage.
If Dollar General fails to correct any of those hazards within 48 hours it will be fined between $100,000 to $500,000 per day and face additional OSHA inspection and enforcement actions, according to the press release.
The agreement also requires Dollar General to train management and non-managerial employees in health and safety, establish a safety and health committee, and encourage employee participation.
As part of the settlement, Dollar General will monitor outcomes from these safety efforts and provide quarterly reports to OSHA, the Labor Department said.
The Labor Department said Dollar General hired a third-party consultant to identify potential workplace hazards and analyze the contributing factors behind them.
The retailer also hired an independent auditor to perform unannounced compliance audits annually; assessing everything from storage conditions to access to fire extinguishers.
Dollar General also set up a new Safety Operations Center to detect store hazards and support safety performance; and established an anonymous hotline where both workers and members of the public can report safety concerns.
A spokesperson for Dollar General told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that the retail giant is “pleased to have reached an agreement with OSHA to resolve these matters.”
“We remain committed to ensuring a safe working environment for our employees and a pleasant shopping experience for our customers,” the spokesperson said.
