Dollar General Corp. has reached a corporate-wide settlement with the U.S. regulator over safety allegations. The discount retailer will pay $12 million in penalties and has committed to substantial workplace safety enhancements across its stores nationwide. These improvements include implementing new safety protocols, expanding safety personnel, and significantly reducing store inventory to prevent obstructed exits.
The U.S. Department of Labor announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has entered into a settlement with Dollar General and its retail subsidiaries to prioritize employee safety through corporate-wide changes.
The settlement addresses both ongoing and contested federal OSHA inspections involving alleged violations such as blocked emergency exits, electrical panels, fire extinguishers, and unsafe storage practices.
Under the settlement terms, Dollar General is required to identify and rectify these issues within 48 hours, failing which, the company will incur penalties of $100,000 per day of violation, up to $500,000, in addition to further OSHA inspections and enforcement actions.
Operating more than 19,000 stores nationwide, Dollar General has agreed to enhance its safety infrastructure and establish a comprehensive safety and health management system, including the hiring of additional safety managers.
The company also vowed to reduce inventory and improve stocking efficiency to prevent blocked exits and unsafe material storage. Additionally, Dollar General will provide safety and health training to both its leadership and non-managerial employees. The Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based retailer is required to form a safety and health committee and encourage employee participation.
The agreement mandates Dollar General to quickly rectify any future violations related to blocked exits, fire extinguisher access, electrical panels, and improper material storage during the agreement term.
To ensure compliance, Dollar General has enlisted a third-party consultant to identify hazards and analyze enterprise-wide risk factors, while a third-party auditor will conduct annual unannounced compliance audits at all covered stores.
A new Safety Operations Center has been established to detect store hazards and bolster safety performance, and the company continues to maintain an anonymous hotline for reporting safety concerns.
Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health, Douglas Parker, stated, "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."
Dollar General has reportedly failed hundreds of government safety inspections since 2017 and has faced over $25 million in proposed fines for alleged violations.
