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

BRAINTREE, MA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Dollar Tree Stores Inc. for exit, storage and fire hazards at a store in Boston, Massachusetts. The national discount retailer faces $523,745 in penalties.

Responding to a complaint, OSHA inspectors found store employees exposed to fire hazards from obstructed exit routes, the risk of struck-by hazards caused by unstable stacks of merchandise and over-stocked materials, and electrical hazards from blocked working space around electrical panels. OSHA cited the retailer for two willful and three repeat violations. The agency has cited Dollar Tree multiple times for similar hazards at stores around the nation, including recently in Bloomfield, Connecticut, and Falmouth, Massachusetts.

“OSHA continues to receive complaints about unsafe working conditions at Dollar Tree stores across the nation,” said Loren Sweatt, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health. “Workers should not be subjected to the same hazards previously identified and cited. This employer is required to follow the law, and comply with regulations that protect workers from injuries and fatalities.”

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 Stores Inc. 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.