U.S. Department of Labor Cites Dollar Tree Stores Inc. for Exposing Employees to Exit and Storage Hazards at Connecticut Store

HARTFORD, CT – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Dollar Tree Stores Inc. for exit and storage hazards at a store in Bloomfield, Connecticut. The national discount retailer faces $208,384 in penalties.

Responding to a complaint, OSHA inspectors found the store’s emergency exits blocked by rolling conveyor equipment and stored merchandise, and boxes of products stacked unsafely, creating the potential for falling loads, and tripping and fire hazards. OSHA cited Dollar Tree Stores Inc. for two repeat violations for these conditions. OSHA has cited the company multiple times for similar hazards at stores around the nation, including after recent inspections in Falmouth, Massachusetts, and Elmira, New York.

“Dollar Tree Stores Inc. has an extensive history of exposing workers to hazardous conditions,” said OSHA Hartford Area Director Dale Varney. “Improper storage of merchandise and blocked exit routes create unnecessary risks to workers and customers. This employer is legally responsible for ensuring workers are provided a safe workplace.”

Additional information about OSHA requirements for keeping exits unobstructed is available in the agency’s Emergency Exit Routes fact sheet. OSHA’s Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs includes information on how to identify and assess hazards in the workplace.

Dollar Tree has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

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 help 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.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.