The Labor Department announced on Thursday that Dollar General, a frequent violator of Department of Labor regulations, and its subsidiaries are facing $12 million penalties and a workplace safety commitment in its 20,000 stores nationwide.
The Labor Department's Settlement
The agreement mandates Dollar General, the largest chain of dollar stores in the US, to reduce inventory and improve stocking practices to prevent hazards, hire additional safety managers, and create a health and safety committee that includes employee participation.
According to the Labor Department, Dollar General has engaged third-party consultants and auditors to identify hazards and conduct unannounced annual compliance audits, established a new Safety Operations Center, and set up an anonymous hotline for employees and the public to report safety concerns.
The settlement with the Department of Labor also mandates that Dollar General track the results of its efforts and submit quarterly reports to OSHA, including blocked access to fire extinguishers and electrical panels, as well as improper material storage at its stores within 48 hours and provide proof of correction or face additional fines of $100,000 per day, totaling up to $500,000 for failing to comply.
This agreement requires Dollar General to make systematic changes to its operations to improve accountability and compliance while also ensuring the health and safety of its employees, said Douglas Parker, the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health, in a press release.
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A Chaotic Dollar Store
Many dollar stores are minimally staffed, sometimes with only one employee at the register, and typically lack security personnel. According to experts, this has led to a reputation for being easy targets for criminals who believe they cansimply enter and access the cash register.
There have been 49 fatalities and 172 injuries reported at Dollar General stores since 2014, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive, and at least six employees lost their lives during armed robberies between 2016 and 2020, as per a CNN investigation in 2020.
Kenya Slaughter, a former Dollar General employee, described in a CBS News interview that working for the chain was chaotic. Employees faced issues such as customer fights, drug use in the store, and theft, highlighting that a billion-dollar company should have afforded more security.
The OSHA's 'Severe Violator'
CNBC reported that Dollar General was the first company added to OSHA's list of "severe violators" of workplace safety rules in 2023, just after it expanded its safety enforcement program.
Investigators identified severe safety hazards, including blocked emergency exit routes and electrical panels, at a Dollar General store in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, during a November inspection prompted by a complaint to OSHA. According to the Department of Labor, these violations were similar to those found at other Dollar General locations across the US, part of over 180 investigations that have compromised worker safety.
The current settlement adds to the Tennessee-based Dollar General's penalties of over $21 million since 2017 due to willful and recurring violations, fire hazards, and safety failures, where it only settled $4 million, according to an OSHA spokesperson speaking to Retail Dive.
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