OSHA Announces New Citations for Dollar General, Proposes Over $1M in Penalties
The citations were issued following inspections in Alabama, Florida and Texas.
- By Alex Saurman
- Jun 08, 2023
OSHA has once again found obstructed exit routes and walkways along with items or merchandise stacked in a dangerous manner in Dollar General stores.
According to two news releases dated June 2 and June 5, inspectors identified these violations, which are similar to those found at other Dollar General locations across the U.S., at an Addison, Alabama store last October and a Lamesa, Texas store in December 2022.
Within the first seven days of June, OSHA announced citations for 12 repeat violations—eight to Dollar General Corp. and four to and Dolgencorp of Texas, Inc.
The eight repeat violations, which came with proposed penalties of $1,098,292, stem from inspections at stores in Addison, Haleyville, Alabama, and Astor, Florida. While conditions like those at the Addison store were found at a Haleyville Dollar General, this wasn’t the case for the Astor location.
Nonetheless, the violations at this store, which include obstructed access to fire extinguishers and items kept “in the working space around an electrical panel,” were still similar to those found at other Dollar General stores, OSHA said.
“In one workplace after another, our investigators continue to find the same hazards at Dollar General stores,” said OSHA Area Director Joel Batiz in Birmingham, Alabama, in the June 2 news release. “The Dollar General Corporation needs to make changes to address the recurring violations before there is a tragedy.”
The findings at the Addison, Haleyville and Astor locations have been contested.
Dolgencorp of Texas, Inc.’s citation for four violations was issued for the Lamesa store findings. The agency also proposed $294,646 in penalties following the inspection late last year.
"Dollar General's pattern of blocking emergency exits and pathways with boxes of merchandise, rolling carts and other materials jeopardizes the safety of everyone in their stores," said OSHA Area Director Elizabeth Linda Routh in Lubbock, Texas, in the June 5 news release. "Poor housekeeping can lead employees to suffer needless injuries and make it hard to exit the store quickly in a crisis. These conditions must be corrected immediately."
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