Dollar Tree Stores Inc. Cited After Workers Found Exposed to Hazards at Georgia Family Dollar Store
Blocked exit routes and boxes that could have fallen contributed to the four repeat violations.
- By Alex Saurman
- Dec 08, 2022
Citations for Dollar Tree Stores. Inc continue to rack up after workers were found exposed to hazards at one Georgia Family Dollar store.
According to a news release, inspectors noted that the Family Dollar store in Richmond Hill, Georgia, had blocked exit routes along with boxes and “compressed gas cylinders” that could have fallen.
The potential worker exposure to fire, entrapment and struck-by hazards led to four repeat violations for Family Dollar operator Dollar Tree Stores Inc., which also runs Dollar Tree, the news release said. OSHA also proposed penalties of $364,645.
Family Dollar stores have a history of citations, collecting 12 willful and 27 repeat violations, among others, after multiple inspections. Together, more than 300 violations were found at Family Dollar and Dollar Tree stores in the last five years.
"Family Dollar and its parent company, Dollar Tree Stores Inc., continue to discount the safety of its employees and others for the sake of profits by unsafely storing merchandise," said OSHA Acting Area Office Director Jerred Stevens in Savannah, Georgia, in the news release. "Time and time again, we find the company overfilling its storerooms and allowing merchandise to block aisles and emergency exits. This has to stop before someone is seriously hurt or unable to exit safely in an emergency."
Photo credit: Jonathan Weiss / 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.