Despite extensive violation history, OSHA finds Dollar General continues to expose workers to safety hazards at Shamokin, Pennsylvania, store

Employer name: DOLGENCORP LLC, doing business as Dollar General Store #398

Inspection site: 30 East Independence St., Shamokin, Pennsylvania

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to the employer on June 15, 2016, for three repeat violations, one serious and one other-than-serious safety violation.

Inspection findings: The agency cited Dollar General for repeat violations after finding locks – which required special knowledge to use – sealing exit doors, obstructed exit routes and electrical hazards created by extension cords used improperly.

OSHA cited the company previously for the same violations from 2011 to 2016 at stores in Missouri, New York, Georgia, Texas, Arkansas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Kansas.

The serious citation relates to emergency exits not clearly marked and visible, and unmarked circuit breakers produced the other-than-serious violation.

Quote: “By locking an emergency exit and failing to correct hazardous conditions, Dollar General has again discounted the importance of ensuring workplace safety. This company’s long and extensive history of violations and penalties shows a continued disregard for the safety and health of their employees and customers,” said Mark Stelmack, OSHA's area director in Wilkes-Barre.

Proposed penalties: $69,300

The citations can be viewed at:  

https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/DolgencorpLLCdbaDollarGeneral_1114508.pdf

Since November 2010, OSHA has inspected Dollar General stores 74 times and issued 117 citations. Blocked exits and electrical panels and fire extinguishers maintained improperly are among the violations found commonly.

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 Wilkes-Barre Area Office at 570-826-6538.

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.