NEWS BRIEF: Dollar General shows “blatant disregard” for employee safety

Employees at Dollar General stores in Georgia and Alabama are being exposed to safety risks, according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. In one instance, a store in Dalton was levied $364,629 in penalties for violations such as failing to keep receiving areas clean and orderly, stacking materials in an unsafe manner, and failing to keep exit routes and workspaces around electrical panels clear. “Dollar General’s long and extensive history of workplace safety violations and repeated failures to protect its workers shows willful recklessness,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Kurt Petermeyer in Atlanta. “Their blatant and continued disregard for the safety of their employees must come to an end. “(We) will make every effort to hold them accountable for their failures.” dol.gov