More Worker Safety Fines Against Dollar General in Florida and Alabama Stores

Main Points:

• According to the Department of Labor, Dollar General was fined $387,000 for violating worker safety regulations at three sites in the Southeast.
• Dollar General has received more than $15 million in fines for numerous infractions since 2017.
• The government reported that 19 establishments in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia had dozens of identical offenses.

A Dollar General store in Creve Coeur, Illinois. Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The Department of Labor announced Thursday that Dollar General had received more fines for worker safety violations, totaling $387,000 this time for problems at three Southeast outlets.

According to a press release, federal inspectors with the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration discovered merchandise blocking exit routes at two stores in Florida, putting employees at risk of fire and entrapment, as well as blocked exit routes and unstable stockpiles of boxes and merchandise at a store in Alabama.

These violations are preventable, and failing to do so demonstrates a flagrant contempt for the workers who are necessary for the operation of their establishments, according to Kurt Petermeyer, regional administrator for OSHA.

Dollar General's growing history of disregard for safety precautions "makes it plainly evident that the firm puts profit before people," Petermeyer said in a statement. OSHA is still doing everything it can to hold Dollar General responsible for its mistakes.

The government stated that Dollar General has 15 days to protest the findings, request a conference with OSHA, or comply with the citations and penalties.

An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by Dollar General.

According to the Labor Department, Dollar General has received fines totaling more than $15 million since 2017 for a variety of infractions.

The government reported that in the previous 11 months, 19 businesses in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia had dozens of identical breaches found.

In November 2022, seven inspections in the three states led to fines totaling $2.7 million, in addition to comparable fines of $1.6 million in the previous month of October. Similar infractions at three of Dollar General's Georgia sites resulted in fines of roughly $1.3 million in August.

OSHA also fined Dollar Tree's competition for violating worker safety $1.2 million in August.