West Texas Dollar General Hit With $294K Penalty
A federal workplace safety inspection at another Dollar General store, this time in Lamesa, Texas, found exit routes and walkways blocked and merchandise unsafely stacked, conditions that exposed employees and others to fire hazards and struck-by injuries that have been common cause for violations at the company’s stores across the country.
Since 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Dollar General Corp. and Dolgencorp LLC, operators of one of the nation’s largest discount retail chains, in more than 240 inspections and proposed penalties of more than $21 million.
“Dollar General’s pattern of blocking emergency exits and pathways with boxes of merchandise, rolling carts and other materials jeopardizes the safety of everyone in their stores,” said OSHA Area Director Elizabeth Linda Routh in Lubbock, Texas. “Poor housekeeping can lead employees to suffer needless injuries and make it hard to exit the store quickly in a crisis. These conditions must be corrected immediately.”
OSHA issued citations to Dollar General for four repeat violations and proposed $294,646 in penalties after its inspection in Lamesa in December 2022.
The findings in Lamesa are similar to those found at many of the company’s stores in recent years. Most recently, OSHA proposed nearly $4.5 million in penalties following inspections in Alabama, Florida, Maine, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin done from October through December 2022.
In 2022, OSHA added Dollar General to its Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which concentrates resources on inspecting employers cited for willful, repeated or failure-to-abate violations and for showing indifference to their legal obligations to provide a safe and healthy workplace.
Based in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, Dollar General Corp. and Dolgencorp LLC operate about 18,000 stores and 17 distribution centers in 47 states and employ more than 150,000 workers.
Dollar General has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Texas Car Dealership Sued for Age and Disability Discrimination
Pete’s Car Smart Inc., a car dealership based in Amarillo, Texas, violated federal law by firing a long-time employee based on her age and cardiovascular-related disability, the federal agency announced.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the employee worked for Pete’s Car Smart for nearly 18 years. The employee underwent bypass heart surgery in early 2021 requiring a brief medical leave of absence. In the days leading up to her return from leave, the owner of the company told the employee she needed to retire, or she would be fired because he did not feel she could do her job any longer.
Prior to the employee’s termination, the owner made remarks about the employee’s age, including comments about the color of her hair and that she had “old-timer’s disease.” The owner also made derogatory comments about the employee’s health and physical agility.
Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination based on an individual’s disability, and the Age in Discrimination Act (ADEA), which prohibits discrimination based on an individual’s age if he or she is 40 or older.
The EEOC filed suit, Civil Action No. 2:23-cv-00092, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Amarillo Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. In this case, EEOC seeks back pay damages, reinstatement or front pay in lieu thereof, compensatory and punitive damages, and injunctive remedies, including an order prohibiting the employer from engaging in discriminatory treatment in the future.