Inspections at four Dollar General stores in Alabama and Georgia during the summer of 2021 reportedly found the national retailer’s history of exposing workers to dangerous working conditions continues.
Inspections of the retail stores by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration reportedly identified five willful violations for failing to keep receiving areas clean and orderly and stacking materials in an unsafe manner, as well as blocked electrical panels and exits in stores 6556, 8083 and 13064 in Mobile, Ala., the Department of Labor said in a Feb. 24 news release.
“Dollar General’s long and extensive history of workplace safety violations and repeated failures to protect its workers shows willful recklessness,” said Kurt Petermeyer, OSHA regional administrator in Atlanta. “Their blatant and continued disregard for the safety of their employees must come to an end.”
For those violations and similar violations at a Dalton, Ga. store, OSHA proposed more than $1 million in penalties.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 requires employers to provide safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA sets and enforces standards and provides training, education and assistance.
OSHA proposed more than $3.6 million in penalties at 55 Dollar General locations across the U.S. since 2016. It was reported OSHA's Dollar General inspections tend to reveal obstructed exit routes, unstable stacking and blocked working space around electrical panels.
"These violations represent hazardous and unsafe conditions and place workers at risk of injury," the news release said.
