Dollar Tree / Family Dollar

Reasons to avoid

1. Family Dollar pled guilty in February 2024 and paid a record $41.675 million fine after its West Memphis, Arkansas distribution center was found filled with live rodents, rodent feces, and decaying carcasses. The company knowingly continued shipping FDA-regulated food, medicine, and cosmetics from the facility for over a year after employees first reported the problem.justice.gov2024-02-26
2. OSHA issued more than 300 violations across 500+ inspections at Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores between 2017 and 2024, totaling $22.7 million in penalties — a higher citation rate than Walmart, Kroger, or Dollar General. In August 2023, the company paid a $1.35 million settlement requiring nationwide safety audits after repeat citations for blocked emergency exits, dangerously stacked merchandise, and inaccessible fire extinguishers.hrdive.com2023-08-24
3. The FDA issued Dollar Tree a formal warning letter in June 2024 after the company failed to adequately remove lead-contaminated apple cinnamon pouches from store shelves following a recall. State inspections found that a significant number of Dollar Tree stores had never been notified of the recall by corporate headquarters, and recalled products remained on shelves months after the recall was issued.fda.gov2024-06-11
4. Dollar Tree has faced repeated lawsuits alleging it misclassifies store managers as salaried to deny them overtime pay, with workers documenting that so-called managers spend most of their time on hourly tasks like stocking shelves and running registers. The company paid a $2.5 million settlement in 2020 after warehouse workers documented a policy of rounding time records down to avoid paying for minutes worked at the start and end of shifts.vcij.org2024-07-31