Dollar General will pay the Garden State $1.2 million to resolve allegations that the Tennessee-based retailer repeatedly engaged in merchandise pricing violations at several stores across New Jersey.

The settlement, announced Nov. 28 by Attorney General Matthew Platkin and the Division of Consumer Affairs, includes a $1.18 million civil penalty — the largest ever obtained by the Division’s Office of Weight and Measures (OWM). The state alleged that Dollar General violated the New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act (CFA) and Weights and Measures Act (WMA) by selling a variety of merchandise that scanned at the cash register for higher prices than were posted at the displays.

During inspections of 58 New Jersey stores in November 2022 and February 2023, OWM found more than 2,000 such instances where the price scanned for higher than the posted price — and sometimes as much as $5.95 higher.

Officials say that reflects an ongoing pattern of pricing violations, pointing to prior OWM inspections at Dollar General stores from 2018 to 2022 that led to more than $40,000 in fines.

“Dollar General claims to provide everyday essentials at affordable prices in communities often underserved by other retailers, but time and time again the chain has been caught overcharging customers through deceptive pricing tactics,” said Cari Fais, acting director of the Division of Consumer Affairs. “New Jersey is committed to ensuring transparency and fairness in its marketplace. Today we hold Dollar General accountable for disregarding our consumer protection laws and unlawfully boosting its profits at the expense of consumers who can least afford it.”

In addition to the $1.2 million, which includes the civil penalty and reimbursement of investigative costs and attorney’s fees, the settlement requires Dollar General to make several changes to its business practices. That includes:

• Complying with all applicable state and federal laws as well as not engaging in any unconscionable business practices or pricing violations as prohibited by the CFA and WMA;
• Ensuring that all employees in New Jersey Dollar General stores who have pricing responsibilities participate in pricing training within 90 days of this agreement;
• Conducting internal audits for a period of three years so that each New Jersey Dollar General store is audited at least once a year and that any audit revealing overcharge errors in more than 2% of the sampled products constitutes a failed audit;
• Within 10 business days of a failed audit, submitting a report to the DCA and a corrective action plan;
• Retaining all reports and records of every internal employee training session and every internal audit for a period of three years and provide to the DCA upon request

“New Jersey, under the leadership of Gov. [Phil] Murphy, has demonstrated a strong commitment to protecting consumers from unfair practices that disproportionately burden low- and moderate-income New Jerseyans,” said Platkin in a press release. “This settlement advances those efforts by imposing a significant civil penalty against a national retailer for engaging in pricing practices that deceived and defrauded New Jersey residents.”

In a statement to NJBIZ, Dollar General said it appreciated the constructive approach to resolving this matter with the Attorney General’s Office.

“Dollar General is committed to providing customers with accurate prices on items purchased in our stores, and we are disappointed any time we fail to deliver on this commitment,” the company said in a statement. “When a pricing discrepancy is identified, our store teams are empowered to correct the matter on the spot for our customers.”