OSHA retail guidance offers roadmap for Dollar General safety

OSHA released sector guidance for retail that consolidates recommended safety practices for stockroom, salesfloor and point-of-sale operations, providing a practical reference for store teams and managers at chains like Dollar General. The guidance outlines everyday controls and management steps employers should consider to reduce common retail hazards and satisfy obligations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

At the top of the guidance are straightforward store-level expectations: keep emergency exits and aisles clear, manage deliveries and rolltainers to prevent struck-by incidents, and provide training on handling chemicals and equipment. The document also highlights staffing assessments to avoid unsafe piling of merchandise in backrooms and on salesfloors, and recommends controls to reduce workplace violence risks at registers and during deliveries.

For Dollar General employees, the guidance puts familiar operational challenges into a compliance frame. Stock associates and managers who wrestle with tight backrooms, overflowing rolltainers and heavy delivery windows now have a single checklist of issues regulators view as higher risk. That can change daily priorities: managers may need to adjust scheduling to ensure enough hands during peak delivery times, rework storage layouts to keep aisles clear, or increase training frequency on chemical and equipment safety. Frontline workers may see new or refreshed procedures for handling inventory, interacting with customers near point-of-sale, and reporting hazards.

The guidance also affects store leadership and district operations teams. Consolidated recommendations make it easier to standardize local safety audits, update training curricula and document corrective actions. For a high-volume discount retailer, preventing struck-by hazards during loading and unloading and minimizing pile-ups of merchandise are practical changes that can reduce injuries and lost work time. Controls addressing workplace violence—such as visibility improvements at registers, safe cash-handling procedures and staffing protocols for closing shifts—can also alter scheduling and store layout decisions.

While a guidance document does not by itself create new law, it clarifies employer obligations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act and signals enforcement priorities. Stores that proactively adopt the recommended practices reduce the risk of incidents and potential citations, while also strengthening safety culture among teams.

What this means for readers is concrete: managers should review their delivery processes, backroom organization and training plans; associates should raise hazards that block exits or create struck-by risks; and district leaders should bake the guidance into audits and onboarding. Expect operational adjustments in the coming months as retailers, including Dollar General, align store-level routines with the consolidated retail safety roadmap.