Safety First—OSHA-Dollar General $12 Million Settlement Reached

In a press release last week, a settlement was announced between OSHA and Dollar General after the latter was found to be in violation of the safety regulations presented by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Every business within the country is expected to maintain safe working conditions within its premises, ensuring an environment free of hazards, with standard escape routes mapped out in case of an emergency. OSHA allegedly found Dollar General’s workplace safety considerations to be below par. As a result, the Dollar General settlement will include a $12 million USD fine as well as corporate-wide changes to prioritize employee safety from here on.

Image: Dollar General

OSHA-Dollar General Settlement Results in a $12 Million Fine

OSHA or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, is an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor, and it enforces nationwide regulations in association with safety at work. The agency has a mission to ensure “America’s workers have safe and healthful working conditions free from unlawful retaliation.” In order to meet these standards, the OSHA Act covers most private-sector employers and their workers along with some public-sector groups in the 50 states and certain territories under federal authority. Dollar General’s safety violations fall neatly within their purview. 

The company operates more than 19,000 stores worldwide according to The Independent, and it has been repeatedly cited as being willfully in violation of workplace safety standards since 2010. Last year, OSHA added Dollar General to the “Severe Violator Enforcement Program” as the first example of an organization that has repeatedly created unsafe working conditions for its employees. 

While the exact infractions that have led to the $12 million USD settlement haven’t been detailed in the July 11 announcement, the business has frequently been the center of conversation when it comes to the negligence of workplace safety standards. Employees have frequently complained publicly about the safety conditions in the stores. In 2020, a manager told Bloomberg that employees had been asked to build a pyramid of boxes in front of an emergency exit. This was done to deter shoplifters but it heightened the risk in case an emergency did occur and employees had to find a way out.

In January 2023, OSHA stated that since 2017, it had issued more than $15 million in fines and cited Dolgencorp and Dollar General Corp. for “numerous willful, repeat, and serious workplace safety violations.” Again later that year, an inspection of a store in Pennsylvania found that the company was “jeopardizing worker safety” by blocking emergency exits and electrical panels. That particular violation had resulted in a $245,544 USD fine. The repeat offenses are a prime reason for the hefty fine this time. 

What are the Regulations Proposed in the Dollar General Settlement?

As part of OSHA’s deal with Dollar General, the business will have to pay $12 million USD in penalties and make significant changes across its stores. The list of expectations includes hiring more safety managers, establishing and maintaining a more robust safety and health management system, reducing their inventory and reworking how goods are stocked at their stores, providing safety and health training to leadership and non-managerial staff, and developing a safety and health committee where employees are encouraged to participate.

The changes in the agreement aim to improve awareness of safety regulations across the teams that work for Dollar General, ensuring that everyone, including store employees, is aware of the guidelines that must be followed for their safety. 

“These changes help give peace of mind to thousands of workers, knowing that they are not risking their safety in their workplaces and that they will come home healthy at the end of each day.”

—Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Douglas L. Parker

Apart from Dollar General paying out the penalties, the organization also has to ensure that they promptly address any cause for future violations such as “blocked exits, access to fire extinguishers and electrical panels, and improper material storage at its stores during the agreement term.” 

All such hazards have to be addressed in 48 hours and proof of correction has to be submitted to DOL as failure to do so could lead to additional penalties of $100,000 USD per day of violation, up to $500,000 USD.

Has Dollar General Addressed the Safety Violations?

In adherence to OSHA regulations, Dollar General has brought in a third-party consultant to identify hazards and a third-party auditor to perform announced checks and assess their compliance. The company has also created a Safety Operations Center to check for in-store hazards and aid in upholding their safety regulations. 

Employees who are concerned about any part of their workplace safety standards also have a hotline available to report their concerns. Dollar General will have to monitor how these new regulations hold up and send quarterly reports to OSHA to meet the terms of their settlement. With this, all open and contested cases against Dollar General regarding workplace safety are now considered resolved. 

Over the next few months, the company’s approach to safety will likely be under close watch to ensure they meet the criteria mapped out by the agreement and that they act in good faith regarding the safety of their employees.

Now is a good time for other businesses to also work with third-party auditors to understand how their own business practices hold up to the OSHA guidelines and ensure all the necessary changes are made to avoid catching the eye of the DOL. 

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