Dollar Tree Faces Yet Another OSHA Safety Violation

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Dollar Tree Inc., one of the nation’s largest discount retail chains, for allowing hazardous conditions at one of its Rhode Island stores.

This is the third time in three months that Dollar Tree has found itself in trouble with OSHA, and this isn’t the only time it’s been in violations of its safety regulations. According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), federal and state OSHA programs identified more than 300 violations in more than 500 inspections at Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, and Dollar General stores operated by Dollar Tree Inc. since 2017, at stores in Rhode Island, Idaho, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania.

In April 2023, the agency cited the company’s locations in East Providence and Pawtucket for obstructing exits and unsafely stacking materials, for which Dollar Tree has paid US$539,095 in penalties.

OSHA opened an inspection at the Coventry, Rhode Island location in January 2023. Inspectors found that store employees were exposed to slip and trip hazards created by haphazardly stacked boxes, as well as wheeled carts, large boxes, and trash spread throughout the stockroom. These conditions led OSHA to cite Dollar Tree for two repeat violations with $294,668 in proposed penalties.

Dollar Tree Inc. operates more than 16,000 Dollar Tree and Family Dollar locations in 48 states and five Canadian provinces—with a nationwide logistics network of more than 193,000 employees and a gross profit of $7.7 billion in 2021.

“We have cited Rhode Island Dollar Tree locations before for unsafely stored stock and materials, so they are well aware of these hazards and how to fix them,” said Robert Sestito, OSHA area director in Providence, Rhode Island. “It’s time they put worker safety over profits.”