Federal inspectors proposed almost $2.8 million in additional penalties against Dollar General after issuing citations for federal safety violations at stores in Alabama, Florida and Georgia.
The discount retailer and Dolgencorp LLC were cited less than a month after the U.S. Department of Labor imposed more than $1.6 million in penalties for similar violations that were endangering the safety of its employees, according to a Nov. 1 news release.
“Dollar General has shown a pattern of alarmingly willful disregard for federal safety standards, choosing to place profits over their employees’ safety and well-being,” Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker said in the release.
Since 2017, Dollar General Corp. and Dolgencorp LLC have been hit with fines totaling more than $12.3 million for a number of intentional, repeated and significant workplace safety infractions since 2017, the release reported. More than 180 inspections of Dollar General stores across the country conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration uncovered unsafe conditions. These conditions put them at risk of being struck by falling boxes of merchandise, trapped inside or unable to safely escape the store in an emergency.
Neighborhood stores exist to support their communities, the same places many of their employees live, Parker said, according to the release. The support must include keeping workers safe by following laws intended to stop preventable injuries or worse.
