Dollar General was recently cited by U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration for four repeated safety violations at its store in Columbus.
According to a Nov. 22 news release, OSHA inspectors visited the Lockbourne Road Dollar General location in Columbus, Ohio, May 24 and found goods that were stacked unsafely, excessive clutter, unhygienic conditions and unmarked emergency exits. These have been common infractions that have lead to more than $15 million in proposed fines for the retailer since 2017.
“Dollar General Corp.’s willingness to avoid its legal responsibility for the safety of its employees is difficult to understand,” Columbus OSHA Area Director Larry Johnson said in the release.
The release states a $341,842 fine was suggested by OSHA for the persistent safety breaches at the store, which is run by DolGen Midwest LLC. A DolGen Midwest LLC-owned business in South Euclid, Ohio, was also found to have inventory blocking storage exits during a 2021 inspection.
“Time and time again, we find the company overfilling its storerooms and allowing merchandise to block aisles and emergency exits, and be stacked high over the heads of many workers,” Johnson said, according to the release. “These are conditions that endanger workers during the normal course of business and create the potential for disaster in an emergency.”
