Obstructed Exit Routes, Walkways Found at Florida Dollar General
For the latest citation, the company now faces $401,812 in proposed penalties.
- By Alex Saurman
- Apr 21, 2023
For the third time this month, OSHA has issued a citation to discount store Dollar General.
During an inspection in October 2022 at a store in Winter Garden, Florida, OSHA discovered that merchandise was obstructing exit routes—also blocked by shelving and rolling containers—and walkways and materials were not securely stacked, exposing workers to fire, entrapment, trip and struck-by hazards, according to a news release and the citation.
OSHA cited Dollar General for one willful and two repeat violations and proposed $401,812 in penalties.
OSHA’s findings at this store reflect those discovered at other Dollar General stores across the U.S. From February 1, 2022, to March 13, 2023, the agency’s proposed penalties from 27 inspections totaled nearly $8.5 million. From 2017 to 2023, over 180 inspections resulted in a grand total of more than $16 million in proposed penalties for Dollar General Corp. and Dolgencorp, per the news release.
“Years of OSHA inspections that have identified systemic hazards makes it clear that Dollar General values profits more than the safety of the people who work in their stores,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Kurt Petermeyer in Atlanta in the news release. “They are well aware of federal requirements, but they continue to ignore their legal responsibilities to protect their employees at stores throughout the nation.”
More than 173,000 people work for Dollar General Corp. and Dolgencorp LLC. OSHA placed Dollar General in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program in 2022.
Dollar General has contested the findings.
Photo credit: Wirestock Creators / Shutterstock.com
Editor’s note: The article was edited on 4/22/2023 to include that Dollar General has contested the findings.