We have heard the Dollar General name in OSHA new releases before, fifty-five times before to be sure. They have yet again been cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, making this the fifty-sixth time they have failed inspection from the administration.

The Dollar General Store in Shamokin, PA, was cited by OSHA for three repeat violations, one serious violation and one other-than-serious violation.

Inspectors issued a serious violation because exits were not marked with obvious “Exit” text. The store received a particular troubling repeat violation because they continued to use locks on exit route doors which required special skills and tools to unlock. They also received a repeat violation for failing to keep exit routes clear of obstructions. Their last repeat violation was for using flexible extension cords to power equipment in place of hard fixed wiring. They received one other-than-serious violation for failing to properly label individual circuit breakers. The five total violations carried proposed fines of $69,300.

A workplace should have at least two clear exit routes, maybe even more depending on the number of employees and building occupants, unless the workplace is situated such that employees are all able to get out of one exit route safely. Workplaces with more than ten employees should have a written emergency action plan in plain sight; smaller workplaces can communicate their action plan to employees without posting it. Learn more about emergency plans and exit procedures here.

Nationwide, Dollar General stores have been inspected by OSHA officials 74 times in the past six years and failed 56 of them, receiving 117 total violations citations to date. Typically inspectors find blocked exits, which is unfortunately a common citation in retail locations. They have over 100,000 employees around the country.