Department of Labor Slaps Mount Pleasant, TX Dollar General with a $254,478 Fine
After safety inspectors visited a Dollar General location in Mount Pleasant, TX, the U.S. Department of Labor has fined the retail giant $254,478. This is not the first time that the company has been reprimanded for these types of violations.
“Dollar General has shown a pattern of alarmingly willful disregard for federal safety standards, choosing to place profits over their employees’ safety and well-being,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. “Neighborhood stores exist to support the needs of their communities – the same communities in which many Dollar General employees live – and that support must include following laws designed to keep workers safe from preventable injuries or worse.”
You might not be aware of this due to its smaller stores that are found mostly in smaller towns throughout America, but Dollar General is one of the largest retailers in the U.S. As of January 1, 2023, they operate 18,774 stores in the continental United States.
"As of February 2023 Dollar General has a market cap of $48.06 Billion. This makes Dollar General the world's 341th most valuable company by market cap," according to companies market cap.
And I will say I always leaving sorry for the employees when I stop by the one near my house, it always seems like there aren't enough workers. And they've got two running back and forth between checking out customers and trying to stock shelves. I'm not even mad at them.
Well, it turns out it's not just me, it's seems to be a way of business for the company.
Less than one month after the U.S. Department of Labor cited Dollar General Corp. and Dolgencorp LLC with more than $1.6 million in penalties for putting its workers’ safety at risk, federal inspectors have issued citations for similar violations at store locations in Alabama, Florida and Georgia, and added $2,777,640 in proposed penalties now owed by one of the nation’s largest discount retailers.
Since 2017, Dollar General Corp. and Dolgencorp LLC have received more than $12.3 million in initial penalties for numerous willful, repeat and serious workplace safety violations.
Looking at this, the Mount Pleasant store violations, and my experiences at the store, it would appear that fines aren't doing enough for this company to take care of their employees or customers.
FOX 4 News reports that Dollar Tree Inc. has 15 business days to pay the fines, request to talk to OSHA or contest the findings.