After the Department of Labor (DOL) launched multiple investigations into unsafe work conditions at Dollar General—including the blocking of emergency exits and the haphazard storage of merchandise—the American retailer has officially agreed to embrace a new safety protocol. As part of a settlement with the DOL, Dollar General will also pay a $12 million penalty for past violations.

In addition to the fine, Dollar General has committed to hiring additional safety managers, reducing store inventory, and preventing the blocking of exits. The company also has committed to providing safety training to its employees and creating a committee governing the topic with worker involvement. 

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with OSHA to resolve these matters,” a Dollar General representative wrote in a statement. “We remain committed to ensuring a safe working environment for our employees and a pleasant shopping experience for our customers.”

Dollar General has a long history of safety concerns

The $12 million fee adds to more than $21 million in accrued fines from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) since 2017. These fines include charges of blocked fire exits and excessive clutter, issues the settlement attempts to address. In 2023, Dollar General was the first company added to OSHA’s “severe violators” list. 

Dollar General has also faced threats of gun violence and robberies within their stores. Data from the nonprofit Gun Violence Archives shows that 49 people were killed and 172 people were injured in Dollar General stores between 2014 and 2023. A CNN investigation found that at least six store employees were killed in armed robberies between 2015 and 2020. 

Meanwhile, Dollar General has been fielding some expensive lawsuits too. In 2018, the Alabama Supreme Court upheld a $1.7 million verdict for a woman who slipped and fell on laundry detergent in one of their stores. Last year, Dollar General subsidiary Dolgencorp was ordered to pay $1.9 million for improperly maintaining a backdoor ramp, which led to an employee’s fall and injury. 

The settlement mandates changes to employee safety procedures

According to the settlement, Dollar General will hire two additional safety managers to work alongside the director of safety to implement workplace health programs. The agreement also mandates that the CEO and senior leadership invest in health and safety training programs and that all store employees receive monthly safety refreshers. Dollar General will also establish a Health and Safety Committee, of which half the members must be nonmanagerial employees.

The company also agreed to a variety of immediate safety protocols, primarily aimed at eliminating clutter and excessive backstock. These efforts include cutting floor stands by 50%, implementing a phased-distribution plan, and increasing regional directors’ ability to halt truck deliveries. The retailer committed itself to instituting brightly colored safety lines and “Do not block” stickers to ensure easy access to exit doors. 

Some of Dollar General’s safety initiatives have been outsourced. This includes a hotline run by a third-party contractor, which employees can use to report any safety concerns. QR codes with the hotline’s information will be placed around the workplace. 

“This agreement commits Dollar General to making worker safety a priority by implementing significant and systematic changes in its operations to improve accountability and compliance,” wrote Douglas Parker, assistant secretary for OSHA, “and it gives Dollar General employees essential input on ensuring their own health and safety. 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.”

Note: The headline of this story was updated to more clearly reflect the scope of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s settlement with Dollar General.