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Dollar General faces $3.4M in new workplace safety fines

Posted On: May. 24, 2023 10:54 AM CST

Dollar General

Discount retailer Dollar General Corp. is facing $3.4 million in new proposed penalties after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said inspectors found workplace safety hazards at nine store locations across four states.

OSHA on Tuesday announced the hefty fines against the nationwide company after inspections of Dollar General locations in Maine, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin in late 2022.

Safety violations discovered by inspectors include blocked aisles, emergency exits, fire extinguishers and electrical panels, many of which were obscured by store merchandise and other materials.

“Dollar General continues to expose its employees to unsafe conditions at its stores across the nation,” OSHA Assistant Secretary Doug Parker said in a statement.

The latest investigations took place at Dollar General stores in Enfield, Maine; Casselton, Garrison, Hillsboro, Killdeer, Minot and Tioga, North Dakota; Kettering, Ohio; and Kewaunee, Wisconsin.

In the North Dakota investigation, inspectors also learned that at least six employees suffered exposure to toxic vapors after several chemical containers ruptured.

The inspections across the four states took place between October and December of last year.

Dollar General was already facing more than $21 million in proposed fines since 2017 after OSHA inspectors visited 240 stores nationwide.