Dollar General worker safety fines top $15 million since 2017, Labor Department says

Dollar General has been deed with much fines for idiosyncratic information violations, bringing to much than $15 cardinal the magnitude of penalties imposed connected the discount retailer by the Department of Labor since 2017.

Federal inspectors with the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration recovered merchandise blocking exit routes astatine 2 stores successful Florida, exposing workers to occurrence and entrapment hazards, arsenic good arsenic blocked exit routes and unstable stockpiles of boxes and merchandise astatine a store successful Alabama, according to a property merchandise from the department.

"Dollar General's increasing grounds of disregard for information measures makes it abundantly wide that the institution puts nett earlier people," said OSHA Regional Administrator Kurt Petermeyer successful a statement. "These violations are preventable, and failing to forestall them shows a blatant disregard for the workers connected whom they beryllium to support their stores operating. OSHA continues to marque each effort to hold Dollar General accountable for its failures."

The section said Dollar General has 15 days to comply with its citations and penalties, petition a league with OSHA oregon contention the findings.

Dollar General did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

In the past 11 months, dozens of akin violations were identified astatine 19 stores successful Alabama, Florida and Georgia, the bureau said.

Seven inspections crossed the 3 states resulted successful $2.7 cardinal successful penalties successful November 2022, successful summation to $1.6 cardinal successful akin penalties that October. In August, Dollar General was deed with nearly $1.3 cardinal successful fines for akin violations astatine 3 of the company's Georgia locations.

In August, rival Dollar Tree was besides fined $1.2 million by OSHA for idiosyncratic information violations.