Inspectors Find ‘All-Too-Familiar’ Violations at Ohio Dollar General
OSHA cited the store for four repeated violations.
- By Alex Saurman
- Nov 29, 2022
Over the past few years, violations have been found at Dollar General stores across the U.S. Less than one month after an OSHA citation, the agency has found what it calls “all-too-familiar” violations at another store, this one in Ohio.
According to a news release, OSHA said a Dollar General in Columbus, Ohio, allegedly had “merchandise stacked unsafely, excessive clutter and unsanitary conditions, and unmarked emergency exits.” The Columbus store is run by DolGen Midwest LLC, whose parent companies are Dollar General Corp. and Dolgencorp LLC.
“Dollar General Corp.’s willingness to avoid its legal responsibility for the safety of its employees is difficult to understand,” said OSHA Area Director Larry Johnson in Columbus, Ohio, in the news release. “Time and time again, we find the company overfilling its storerooms and allowing merchandise to block aisles and emergency exits, and be stacked high over the heads of many workers. These are conditions that endanger workers during the normal course of business and create the potential for disaster in an emergency.”
The store received citations for four repeated violations and proposed penalties totaling $341,842.
OSHA found similar violations at other Dollar Generals this year alone. After an inspection at three Georgia stores, OSHA issued violations for unclean receiving areas, unsafe stacked boxes and blocked “exit route and electrical panels,” according to an August news release.
The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health listed Dollar General as one of the “dirty dozen” employers earlier this year.
The recent citation brings Dollar General’s total proposed penalties since 2017 up to $15 million.
Photo credit: Eric Glenn / Shutterstock.com
About the Author
Alex Saurman is a former Content Editor for Occupational Health & Safety,who has since joined OH&S’s client services team. She continues to work closely with OH&S’s editorial team and contributes to the magazine.