News Analysis and Opinion

(Editor’s Note: The following article reflects the opinions and views of the author.)

A Dollar General store in Texas has received five citations from the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration and faces up to $162,800 in fines after inspectors found numerous safety violations, including emergency exits blocked with cases of products, blocked electrical panels, and no emergency escape routes for employees.

The store in Sherman, Texas, is the latest Dollar General store to be cited by OSHA for safety concerns. Since 2006, the Tennessee-based company has received 240 safety violations in stores in 21 states.

Dollar Tree

And Dollar General isn’t the only discount chain to be targeted by OSHA.

Last month, the Dollar Tree discount store chain agreed to adhere to a strict set of rules and pay more $825,000 in fines after a federal agency found multiple safety violations at its stores, including blocked emergency exits, obstructed access to exit routes and electrical equipment, and improper material storage.

So what’s the deal? Why are discount stores like Dollar General and Dollar Tree and others being cited for safety violations by federal inspectors? Are they really that unsafe? Or are their low-pay employees just taking advantage of the government’s anonymous hotline to rat out their employers?

Probably, it’s a little of both.

How Discount Stores Make Money

In order to sell products for so little, discount chains like Dollar Tree generally can’t afford to pay high wages. In some case, not even to its managers. Some discount chains pay their managers an hourly rate not much higher than minimum wage. For that little money, there’s less motivation to maintain high-quality service and efficiency standards — let alone hold other employees accountable.

And because many of these chains have expanded so quickly — it sometimes seems as if their new store openings rival the Starbucks building boom of the early 2000s — it may be hard for regional and district managers to keep up with their workload.

Physical Space Issues

Variety stores often will order by volume in order to afford the steep discounts they need to make a profit. While other retailers, such as pharmacies, can have product orders picked by the piece from a regional distribution center, discount stores often need to buy whole cases of products — or even full pallets.

Combine that with limited storage space due to lower rents and overhead costs — another cost-cutting move — and that can be difficult to maintain the kind of neat, orderly storage area that’s essential for safety.

Political Considerations?

While OSHA probably isn’t purposely picking on Dollar Tree, Dollar General and other discount chains, its inspectors also know how to get good press for the agency. The leadership of federal agencies like OSHA are under pressure to produce positive results that can be reported to the tax-paying public. And that pressure often exerts itself from the top down — especially in an election year.

So far, there hasn’t been any disastrous fires, instances of trampling, or other serious issues at any of the discount store’s chains. But unless some stores start taking safety more seriously, inspectors need to keep holding owners responsible for protecting their workers and the public.