By Sabela Ojea


Dollar General has agreed to pay $12 million in penalties to the Labor Department to settle alleged safety violations at the discount retailer's stores.

The settlement resolves existing contested and open federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspections related to blocked emergency exits, electrical panels and fire extinguishers and unsafe storage, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The agreement includes a requirement for Dollar General to implement corporate-wide changes, such as significantly reducing inventory and increasing stocking efficiency to prevent blocked exits and unsafe material storage.

Dollar General would also have to hire additional safety managers, and provide safety and health training to both leadership and non-managerial employees.

The company has retained a third-party consultant and auditor to make the safety of its employees a priority, and maintained an anonymous hotline for employees and the public to report safety concerns, as part of the settlement.

The agreement also requires the company to promptly address future violations related to blocked exits, access to fire extinguishers and electrical panels and improper storage of certain material at its stores. Otherwise, the company could face additional monetary penalties of $100,000 to $500,000 per day of violation, as well as inspections and enforcement actions.

"We are pleased to have reached an agreement with OSHA to resolve these matters," a Dollar General spokesperson said. "We remain committed to ensuring a safe working environment for our employees and a pleasant shopping experience for our customers."

Dollar General will provide quarterly reports to OSHA about the results of the measures taken to improve the safety of its employee base. The company has about 185,000 full- and part-time employees across its roughly 20,000 store count.

"These changes help give peace of mind to thousands of workers, knowing that they are not risking their safety in their workplaces and that they will come home healthy at the end of each day," said Douglas Parker, the Labor Department's assistant secretary for occupational safety and health.


Write to Sabela Ojea at sabela.ojea@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-11-24 1910ET