OSHA fines Dollar General another $2.8M
Less than a month after the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Dollar General Corp. $1.6 million for workplace safety violations, the agency on Tuesday said its inspectors issued another $2.8 million in penalties for similar violations at stores in Alabama, Florida and Georgia.
Seven inspections from April 28 through June 3 identified 31 violations similar to those found at other Dollar General stores where litigation is pending. The investigations were conducted at stores in Clay, Dothan, Odenville and Town Creek, Alabama; Darien and West Point, Georgia; and Panama City Beach, Florida.
In addition to exposing workers to the risk of being stuck by improperly stacked boxes and blocking exits, Dollar General also allegedly failed to label fire extinguishers or make them accessible to workers; stored boxes in front of electrical panels; failed to use exit signs; exposed workers to electrocution; and did not install handrails on stairs where required.
The violations allegedly found in these recent inspections are similar to ones OSHA has found at Dollar General locations across the nation.
In October, inspections at four locations in Alabama, Florida and Georgia uncovered numerous hazards, leading OSHA to propose $1.7 million in penalties. In August, inspections at three other Georgia locations resulted in $1.3 million in penalties. In February, OSHA proposed $1 million in penalties after inspections at three other Mobile locations and one in Dalton, Georgia, found similar hazards.
In December 2021, an inspection in Mobile led OSHA to propose $321,827 in penalties for exposing workers to slip-and-trip hazards and not keeping the main storeroom orderly to allow a safe exit in an emergency.
In all, the department said it has fined Dollar General a total of $12.3 million for safety violations since 2017.
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