What is happening with Family Dollar? The $42M rat infestation fine, explained

If you’ve bought products from one of the 8,000 nationwide Family Dollar stores in the last few years, then you may want to hear about the recent controversy regarding a rat-infested warehouse and a $42 million fine.

Family Dollar stores have recently pleaded guilty to storing products that include food, drugs, and cosmetics in a West Memphis warehouse with unsanitary conditions. Unsanitary may be an understatement; the place sounded absolutely filthy, with live rats, dead rats, and rat droppings everywhere. It’s basically a rat musical in that place. It sounds like they were truly the ones running the show, and for all we know, they could have been. This particular warehouse delivered 404 Family Dollar stores across six states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee.

The timeline

According to CBS News, the problems started way back in August of 2020. A few issues with rodents and contaminated products were reported as deliveries were being sent out to stores. It seems nothing was really acknowledged until the following year, as the New York Times reports that the plea agreement stated the rats had “established a presence” in July 2021. A complaint was also filed by an employee a month later.

In January 2022, the Food and Drug Administration looked into the matter and their investigation “revealed live rodents, dead and decaying rodents, rodent feces, urine, and odors, and evidence of gnawing and nesting throughout the facility.” The press release from the FDA claims that 1,270 rodents were exterminated the following month whilst the company mass recalled products and stores were temporarily closed. Basically, the facility had become the equivalent of a New York City alleyway.

The fine

Family Dollar would have certainly known about the issues in the warehouse. The company faced heavy criticism from Jonathan D. Ross, the Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, who said, “It is incomprehensible that Family Dollar knew about the rodent and pest issues at its distribution center in Arkansas but continued to ship products that were unsafe.” The company ultimately reached a plea agreement ending up with a fine of $41.7 million. The charge is for one misdemeanor count of holding products in unsanitary conditions, making it the largest criminal penalty in a food safety case ever. That’s bad, but it’s nothing compared to what Hyundi and Kia are paying out in their recent lawsuits (and there’s no word yet on what may or may not happen with that Willy Wonka disaster).

The aftermath

Rick Dreilling, the chairman and CEO of Dollar Tree (Family Dollar’s parent company) released a statement assuring customers that the company had worked to “significantly enhance [its] policies.” Thank you, Captain Obvious, we would certainly hope so. The plea agreement also means that Family Dollar must meet “robust corporate compliance and reporting requirements for the next three years,” according to the FDA. Again, thank goodness. If there’s anything we don’t need right now, it’s Beyoncé needing to change the lyrics to “Who Run the World?”