Dollar General Settles with OSHA to Enhance Workplace Safety
The company will pay penalties totaling $12 million and must enhance safety measures nationwide.
- By Robert Yaniz Jr.
- Jul 12, 2024
OSHA has reached a corporate-wide settlement with Dollar General, one which requires the company make significant workplace safety enhancements across its stores nationwide. As part of the agreement, Dollar General will pay $12 million in penalties and undertake comprehensive safety improvements to ensure the well-being of its employees.
“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,” Assistant Secretary for OSH Douglas L. Parker said in a statement. “These changes help give peace of mind to thousands of workers, knowing that they are not risking their safety in their workplaces and that they will come home healthy at the end of each day.”
Among the safety measures being implemented, Dollar General will establish an expanded safety structure, hire additional safety managers, and create a robust safety and health management system. The company is also committed to reducing inventory and improving stocking efficiency to prevent hazards such as blocked exits and unsafe material storage.
Furthermore, Dollar General will provide extensive safety and health training for both leadership and non-managerial employees and will form a safety and health committee to encourage employee participation in safety practices. The agreement requires prompt correction of any future violations related to blocked exits, access to fire extinguishers and electrical panels, and improper material storage, generally within 48 hours.
Non-compliance could result in fines of up to $100,000 per day, capped at $500,000.
To that end, Dollar General has brought in a third-party consultant to identify hazards and a third-party auditor to conduct annual unannounced compliance audits at all covered stores. Additionally, the company has established a new Safety Operations Center and maintains an anonymous hotline for reporting safety concerns. Quarterly reports on safety performance will be submitted to OSHA as part of the ongoing monitoring process.
This settlement resolves numerous ongoing OSHA inspections involving violations such as blocked emergency exits and unsafe storage practices. Dollar General, based in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, operates more than 19,000 stores nationwide.
About the Author
Robert Yaniz Jr. is the Content Editor of Occupational Health & Safety.