Please note: As of January 20, 2021, information in some news releases may be out of date or not reflect current policies.
News Release
Illinois Dollar Tree stores endanger workers with blocked exits, stacked boxes
CALUMET CITY, Ill. — Workers at two Chicago-area Dollar Tree Inc. stores were exposed to safety hazards from blocked exit routes and boxes piled at dangerous heights. The national retailer, who recorded sales of $8.6 billion in 2014, has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for more than 200 safety and health violations across the nation since 2009.
OSHA proposed $121,000 in penalties for two repeated violations at the Chicago Ridge store and one repeated violation at the South Chicago Heights store. The inspections were initiated in November and December 2014 following employee complaints.
"Workers can be injured by haphazardly stacked boxes that fall or trapped when exits are blocked. Hazards like these put worker safety in jeopardy," said Kathy Webb, OSHA's area director in Calumet City. "Employers are responsible for ensuring the safety of workers in their facilities."
In the second half of 2014, OSHA cited Dollar Tree stores nationwide for more than $900,000 in fines.
View the citations at
Headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia, Dollar Tree stores operates about 5,300 retail locations and employs approximately 87,400 workers in the U.S. and Canada. The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Calumet City office at 708-891-3800.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.