Dollar General, Dollar Tree urged to improve worker safety, wages

Two activist investment firms are calling on Dollar General and Dollar Tree shareholders to approve a pair of resolutions aiming to improve worker safety and wages, the firms said Tuesday. 

Dollar General Proposal 7, led by Domini Impact Investments, calls for an independent audit into worker safety and wellbeing. It will be voted on during the company’s annual shareholder meeting on May 31. 

Dollar Tree Proposal 7, led by United Church Funds, calls for the creation of a wages and inequality report and. It will go before shareholders during the retailer’s annual meeting on June 13. 

The resolutions aim to address longstanding workplace safety and wage concerns that have plagued employees of the growing discount chains, which are increasing store counts faster than any other retailer. Collectively, they employ more than 377,000 employees nationwide, company filings show. 

Dollar General is currently facing more than $16 million in fines from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration for safety hazards, including blocked fire exits, blocked electrical outlets and dangerous levels of clutter. 

“It’s far too dangerous in the stores that we work in,” David Williams, a Dollar General stocker, said during a panel event Tuesday. “It’s a dire need and it makes no sense to always look behind your back and always try to do your job but at the same time always trying to make sure you’re safe as well.”

Federal regulators have repeatedly found similar violations at Dollar General stores across the country, prompting OSHA to label it a “severe violator” of workplace safety rules. It’s a designation considered “unprecedented” and “rare” for a company of its size and stature, said Debbie Berkowitz, a former chief of staff and senior policy advisor at OSHA. 

“[It’s] a program for the worst safety violators in the nation. It is totally rare for a large employer with many work sites to be in the severe violator program. Most companies in their program are small construction companies,” said Berkowitz, who is also a fellow at the Kalmanovitz Initiative at Georgetown.

“OSHA rarely finds the same hazards or cites the same company so many times and for the same violation. Usually companies try to correct safety hazards that endanger workers,” she said.

Berkowitz pointed out that OSHA fines are notoriously low. Considering the $37.84 billion in sales Dollar General posted in fiscal 2022, the penalties are unlikely to have a major impact on its balance sheet. 

The retailer didn’t return a request for comment. It is currently in settlement negotiations with OSHA. Its board has called on shareholders to vote “against” Domini’s resolution, proxy filings show.