A federal agency’s fined a national retailer over flagrant violations at one of its southeastern Missouri stores.
Since 2010, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has identified more than 100 infractions at Dollar General stores nationwide.
Last month, an inspection of a location in Van Buren revealed blocked exits and other hazards. The agency issued several citations and the store now faces fines totaling almost $98,000.
Scott Allen with OSHA calls Dollar General’s violations totally unacceptable. “I don’t know what they’re doing” said Allen. “If they’re putting profit before the safety and concern of their workers, it’s just a sad situation. I’d hate to see something tragic happen because their careless disregard for safety and health of their workers.”
Allen also noted the retailer has a track record of infractions nationwide. “Unfortunately, Dollar General does have a history of being sloppy and disregarding the safety and welfare of their workers and their customers.” He blasted Dollar General over it’s violations. “This type of situation is absolutely unacceptable when they put workers and customers in jeopardy for no reason at all.”
A call to Dollar General’s corporate headquarters was not returned. A person identifying himself as the manager at the Van Buren location said the violations were addressed and the store had since been in compliance with federal law.
The company has 15 days to respond to OSHA’s proposed fines. It can pay the penalties, request a settlement conference to have the fines reduced, or contest the infractions before the independent Occupational Safety Health Review Commission.
OSHA is a federal agency under U.S. Department of Labor.
Dollar General is headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. It operates 12,000 stores in 43 states and employs about 100,000 people. Its fiscal 2015 sales totaled $20.4 billion.