OSHA cited four Idaho Dollar Tree locations for blocked walkways and exit routes and unsafe storage of merchandise. The agency has proposed penalties totaling $898,682.
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The agency received complaints about workplace conditions at Dollar Tree locations in Boise, Caldwell, Nampa, and Meridian, Idaho, and cited Dollar Tree for eight repeat violations and three serious violations at these stores. The agency previously has cited Dollar Tree locations across the country for similar violations.
“Dollar Tree Stores has a history of exposing their employees to safety and health hazards,” Loren Sweatt, deputy assistant secretary for Occupational Safety and Health said in an agency statement.
“Improper storage of merchandise creates unnecessary risks for employees, while blocked exits pose serious risks to the safety of employees and customers in an emergency.”
Violations Cited
OSHA cited the Boise store for two repeat violations.
Boxes, conveyor rollers, and merchandise carts blocked exit routes, exposing employees to burns and smoke inhalation hazards in the event of a fire, as well as trip and fall hazards. The agency previously cited Dollar Tree stores in Aurora, Colorado, and Bloomington, Illinois, for the same violation.
Boxes of merchandise were stacked 10 feet (ft) high and not blocked, interlocked, or stacked to prevent them from falling onto employees. OSHA had cited stores in Aurora, Bloomington, and Missoula, Montana, for the same violation. It proposed penalties totaling $229,218 for the repeat violations cited at the Boise store.
The agency cited the Caldwell location for three repeat violations.
Exit routes were not kept free and unobstructed. Boxes and merchandise carts blocked the egress routes exposing employees to burn, smoke inhalation, and trip and fall hazards. OSHA had cited Dollar Tree for the same violation at the Aurora and Bloomington stores.
Employees at the Caldwell store were exposed to struck-by and trip and fall hazards posed by boxes of merchandise improperly stacked up to 9 ft high. OSHA previously cited an Amityville, New York, location, as well as the Aurora and Missoula stores, for the same violation.
The agency also found boxes of merchandise stacked in front of electrical control panels. OSHA cited the Missoula location, as well as Houston, Texas, and Titusville, Florida, stores for the same violation. It proposed penalties totaling $288,700 for the repeat violations cited at the Caldwell store.
The agency cited the Nampa store for three serious violations—two violations of the ladders standard and one walking-working surface standard violation. OSHA also cited the Nampa store for a repeat violation for boxes improperly stacked 8 ft high. The agency previously cited the Amityville, Aurora, and Missoula stores for the same violation. OSHA proposed penalties totaling $151,546 for the repeat and serious violations cited at the Nampa store.
OSHA cited the Meridian store for two repeat violations:
- Boxes and merchandise carts blocking exit routes, and
- Boxes of merchandise improperly stacked up to 8 ft high.
The agency proposed penalties totaling $229,218 for violations at the Meridian store.