Dollar General has agreed to pay the Occupational Safety and Health Administration $12 million and will do a complete worker safety overhaul.
According to the settlement, the discount retailer will put together an expanded safety structure, hire more safety managers, and put together a safety and health management system.
The Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based company will also continue to reduce inventory and improve stocking efficiency to prevent blocked exits and provide access to fire extinguishers and electric panels. If a store is cited for obstructions, it will have 48 hours to make a correction or face fines up to $100,000 a day (maximum fine of $500,000).
Dollar General also needs to provide safety and health training for managers and associates and will establish a safety and health committee to encourage employee participation in safety practices.
“This agreement commits Dollar General to making worker safety a priority by implementing significant and systematic changes in its operations to improve accountability and compliance, and it gives Dollar General employees essential input on ensuring their own health and safety,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Douglas Parker. “These changes help give peace of mind to thousands of workers knowing that they are not risking their safety in their workplaces and that they will come home healthy at the end of each day.”
Dollar General has hired a third-party consultant to identify hazards. The retailer has also called on a third-party auditor to perform annual unannounced compliance audits at all stores. Dollar General also has a new Safety Operations Center, and employees can call a hotline to report safety issues anonymously.
OSHA is requiring Dollar General to submit quarterly safety performance reports.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with OSHA to resolve these matters. We remain committed to ensuring a safe working environment for our employees and a pleasant shopping experience for our customers,” Dollar General said in an emailed statement to Supermarket News.
Dollar General has just over 20,000 locations in the U.S. as of July 2 according to ScrapeHero.
