Dollar General Corporation | Human Rights Policy at Dollar General Corporation

Status
Filed
Previous AGM date
Resolution details
Company ticker
NYSE: DG
Lead filer
Mercy Investment Services, Inc.
Resolution ask
Report on or disclose
ESG theme
  • Social
ESG sub-theme
  • Human rights
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Consumer Discretionary
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
Resolved: Shareholders request the Board of Directors report to shareholders on the feasibility of adopting a comprehensive Human Rights Policy stating the Companys commitment to respect human rights, in alignment with international human rights standards, throughout its operations and value chain.
Whereas clause
The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights establish the corporate responsibility to respect internationally recognized human rights, including rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining, a safe and healthy working environment, and just and favorable remuneration. After investors filed a proposal last year asking for the adoption of a comprehensive human rights policy, but before the AGM, Dollar General Corporation (?Dollar General?) adopted a ?Human Rights Policy?1 lacking an explicit commitment to respect human rights within its operations and requiring only suppliers to comply with human rights standards. In an exempt solicitation,2 investors highlighted gaps between Dollar General?s policies and human rights standards. The 22% shareholder support for the 2025 proposal despite Dollar General?s adoption of a policy suggests that it falls short of investor expectations. Peers with comprehensive human rights policies include Dollar Tree,3 Target,4 Walmart,5 Costco,6 and Big Lots.7 Each explicitly seeks to align with international human rights standards, demonstrating that this is a best practice for the retail industry. Dollar General issued a safety report8 in 2024; investors and workers criticized the inadequate stakeholder engagement process and selection of an auditor with an anti-union reputation.9 Auditors visited only 12 of over 20,000 stores and did not recommend significant changes, despite indications that Dollar General practices do not align with international human rights standards: ? The National Labor Relations Board ruled in 2023 that Dollar General engaged in ?blatant hallmark unfair labor practices? against Connecticut workers attempting to organize, including unlawful termination, surveillance, interrogation, and threatening store closures.10 ? The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) named Dollar General a ?Severe Violator? in 2022 for willful, repeat, and serious workplace safety violations.11 Dollar General?s 2024 settlement with OSHA12 imposed $12 million in penalties and mandated safety improvements. In 2025, Dollar General received 4 additional fines.13 ? News reports show that from 2022 to 2024, 80 shootings took place at Dollar Generals nationwide, with 107 victims and 41 fatalities, including five employees killed.14 ? The United Nations states, ?achieving living wages is part of the business responsibility to respect fundamental human rights.?15 Dollar General?s CEO to median worker pay ratio in 2024 was 114:1.16 92% of Dollar General workers made less than $15 per hour in 2022,17 well below living wage rates.18 Human rights violations create reputational, financial, legal, and regulatory risks. Dollar General acknowledges reputational damage from labor issues may hurt performance.19 Accordingly, we ask Dollar General to assess the feasibility of adopting a comprehensive human rights policy aligned with international human rights standards. ------------ 1 https://www.dollargeneral.com/content/dam/dg/assets/landing-pages/public-relations/corporate-social-responsibility/documents/DG_HumanRightsPolicyMarch2025.docx.pdf 2 https://www.iccr.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Dollar-General-Human-Rights-Policy-Exempt-Solicitation-2025-FINAL-1.pdf 3 https://www.dollartree.com/file/general/Human_Rights_Policy.pdf 4 https://corporate.target.com/sustainability-governance/responsible-supply-chains/human-rights 5 https://corporate.walmart.com/policies 6 https://mobilecontent.costco.com/live/resource/img/static-us-landing-pages/HumanRightsStatement.pdf 7 https://assets.biglots.com/is/content/biglots/BigLotsHumanRightsPolicyFINAL2023.03v2pdf 8 https://www.dollargeneral.com/content/dam/dg/assets/landing-pages/public-relations/corporate-social-responsibility/Dollar_General_Safety_Audit_2024.pdf 9 https://laborlab.us/jackson_lewis_the_notorious_law_firm_at_the_forefront_of_union_busting/ 10 https://www.nlrb.gov/news-outreach/news-story/region-1-boston-wins-administrative-law-judge-decision-finding-dollar 11 https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/region4/11012022 12 https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/national/07112024-0 13https://violationtracker.goodjobsfirst.org/?company_op=starts&company=dollar+general&order=pen_year&sort= 14 https://www.stepuplouisiana.org/dollarstore 15 https://bhr-navigator.unglobalcompact.org/issues/living-wage/ 16 https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0000029534/000110465925033041/tm2416441-2_def14a.htm#tPRD 17 https://www.epi.org/company-wage-tracker/ 18 https://livingwage.mit.edu/; https://livingwageforus.org/ 19 https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0000029534/000155837025003413/dg-20250131x10k.htm#RISKFACTORS

DISCLAIMER: By including a shareholder resolution or management proposal in this database, neither the PRI nor the sponsor of the resolution or proposal is seeking authority to act as proxy for any shareholder; shareholders should vote their proxies in accordance with their own policies and requirements.

Any voting recommendations set forth in the descriptions of the resolutions and management proposals included in this database are made by the sponsors of those resolutions and proposals, and do not represent the views of the PRI.

Information on the shareholder resolutions, management proposals and votes in this database have been obtained from sources that are believed to be reliable, but the PRI does not represent that it is accurate, complete, or up-to-date, including information relating to resolutions and management proposals, other signatories’ vote pre-declarations (including voting rationales), or the current status of a resolution or proposal. You should consult companies’ proxy statements for complete information on all matters to be voted on at a meeting.