Dollar General faces $1.3M in fines for violating work safety laws at 3 Georgia stores

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ATLANTA — Dollar General has been hit with nearly $1.3 million in penalties after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration says it violated work safety, and put employees lives at risk at three stores in Georgia.

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Dollar General was under investigation by the Department of Labor after several violations were discovered at the stores earlier this year.

OSHA said Dollar General failed to keep receiving areas clean and organized and said that boxes were kept in an unsafe manner. OSHA also issued citations for exposing workers to fire and by failing to keep exits area and electrical panels clear.

The investigation occurred at the Pembroke store in February and Hogansville and Smyrna in March. OSHA discovered four willful and seven repeated violations.

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As a result of the three latest inspections, OSHA has proposed $1,292,783 in penalties.

“Dollar General continues to demonstrate a willful pattern of ignoring hazardous working conditions and a disregard for the well-being of its employees,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. “Despite similar citations and sizable penalties in more than 70 inspections, the company refuses to change its business practices.

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Since 2017, the Department of Labor said Dollar General has been fined more than $6.5 million in penalties after 78 inspections at Dollar General locations nationwide.

Dollar General employs more than 150,000 workers and has more than 17,000 stores.

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