According to the Department of Labor, Dollar General agreed to pay $12 million to settle claims that there were unsafe working conditions throughout its stores, including blocked fire exits and fire extinguishers and unsafe stockroom conditions.
In addition to paying the hefty fine, Dollar General’s settlement with the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will require the chain and its retail subsidiaries to “make significant workplace safety improvements at stores nationwide.”
The Tennessee-based company, which operates more than 19,000 stores nationwide, must ensure that its stores eliminate all future violations over the life of the contract, including those related to blocked exits, access to fire extinguishers and electrical panels and improper storage of materials.
The company was given 48 hours to provide evidence that it had remedied the risks.
If the company does not correct its conduct, it will be fined $100,000 per day, with the potential fine increasing to a maximum of $500,000.
They will also be subject to additional inspections and enforcement actions by OSHA.
Under the agreement, Dollar General must implement “substantial and systemic changes to its operations to improve accountability and compliance” and make worker safety a top priority, OSHA Deputy Administrator Douglas Parker said.
Among these changes, companies will also be required to establish health and safety committees and provide health and safety training to both managerial and non-managerial employees.
They also need to significantly reduce inventory and increase storage efficiency to ensure that exits are not blocked and materials are not stored unsafely.
The company will also be required to establish “an enhanced safety regime and robust health and safety management systems,” including hiring additional safety managers.
Parker said the change gives employees greater peace of mind by allowing them to “have a say in ensuring their health and safety.”
Dollar General already hires third-party consultants to identify hazards and analyze contributing factors across the company, as well as third-party auditors to conduct annual, unannounced compliance audits of all affected stores.
We also established a new Safety Operations Centre to detect hazards in our stores and support our safety performance.
An anonymous hotline has also been set up for employees and the public to report safety concerns.
FOX Business has reached out to Dollar General for comment.
