Dollar General store in Georgia continues to ignore entrapment and fire hazards despite recent OSHA citations, penalties

Employer name: Dollar General Corporation

Inspection site: 203 Wedowee St., Bowdon, Georgia 30108

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to the employer on March 07 for two repeated and one serious safety violation.

Inspection findings: The agency cited Dollar General for repeatedly exposing workers to fire hazards by blocking emergency exits and fire extinguishers with merchandise and utility carts. OSHA cited the company for the same violations at this location in March 2015.

The serious citation is related to entrapment hazards due to the employer not keeping the aisles leading to the exit doors unobstructed.

Quote: “Dollar General continues to expose workers to safety hazards previously identified at this location and found at other locations throughout the country,” said Christi Griffin, OSHA’s area director in the Atlanta-West Office. This is a clear indication that management is not sharing safety and health information throughout the corporation to protect its employees.”

Proposed penalties: $69,000

The citations can be viewed at:  

http://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/legacy-files/documents/newsroom/releases/OSHA20160370.pdf

Dollar General has been inspected and cited approximately 52 times by OSHA in the last five years. The violations found include blocked exits and electrical panels and improperly maintained fire extinguishers.

Headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, Dollar General is a discount retailer with more than 100,000 employees in 12,000 store locations in 43 states nationwide. Workers are typically engaged in stocking shelves and selling merchandise. The employer has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint; or report amputations, eye loss, 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 Atlanta-West Area Office at 678-903-7301.

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.