OSHA Cites Discount Retailers Dollar General, Dollar Tree Again

Updated: Jun 9, 2023

On June 8, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it has again cited discount retailers Dollar General and Dollar Tree for repeat exit route and other violations.

Dollar Tree Inc., operator of Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores, is facing $98,219 in new OSHA penalties for a repeat violation following the agency's inspection of a Pewaukee, Wisconsin, store. Agency inspectors found merchandise was blocking aisles and exit routes, creating trip and fall hazards and preventing workers from leaving the store safely in an emergency.

In more than 500 inspections of Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores since 2017, OSHA has issued citations to Dollar Tree Inc. for more than 300 violations.

"OSHA inspectors repeatedly find Dollar Tree employees exposed to the risks of injury from stacked merchandise, and blocked aisles and exits," Christine Zortman, OSHA's Milwaukee area director, said in an agency statement. "They need to develop and follow a company-wide safety and health program for its stores to eliminate these well-known hazards and protect the safety of their employees."

OSHA also recently reported safety violations at Dollar General stores in Addison and Halleyville, Alabama; Astor, Florida; and Lamesa, Texas.

Agency inspectors discovered spare shelving, rolling containers, and merchandise were blocking exit routes and creating fire and entrapment hazards at Dollar General's Addison store. Inspectors also noted walkways were blocked by merchandise and unsafely stacked items, exposing workers to trip and struck-by hazards.

A few weeks later, agency inspectors visited the chain's Haleyville store, about 35 miles away, and found similar violations.

Inspectors also found merchandise and other items were blocking access to fire extinguishers and materials were improperly stored in the space around an electrical panel at Dollar General's Astor store.

Following the three inspections, OSHA issued citations to Dollar General Corp. for a total of 8 repeat violations and proposed penalties totaling $1,098,292. Since 2017, the company has faced more than $21 million in fines after more than 240 inspections nationwide. In 2022, OSHA added Dollar General to its Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP), which involves mandatory follow-up inspections.

Between February 1, 2022, and April 20, 2023, in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia alone, OSHA inspectors have issued nearly $9 million in proposed penalties following 28 investigations of Dollar General stores.

"In one workplace after another, our investigators continue to find the same hazards at Dollar General stores," Joel Batiz, OSHA's Birmingham, Alabama, area director, said in an agency statement.

OSHA issued citations to Dollar General for four repeat violations and proposed $294,646 in penalties after its inspection of the chain's Lamesa store. Inspectors found exit routes and walkways were blocked and merchandise was unsafely stacked—conditions that exposed employees and others to fire and struck-by hazards.

"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," Elizabeth Linda Routh, OSHA's Lubbock, Texas, area director, said in an agency statement. "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."