Dell

According to Dominican media reports, a Santo Domingo court sentenced the local Dell, Inc. subsidiary to pay RD$116.5 million (approximately US$3.6 million) in indemnification to Dominican information technology firm Xolutiva, S.A. The Dominican company sued Dell for RD$300 million for violating its rights as the Dell’s local representative. The Civil and Commercial Chamber ruled against Dell for violating Law 173 on International Representations, holding that Xolutiva represented Dell in the country since 1997, but Dell unilaterally decided not to renew the contract without due compensation. The court ordered Dell to close its operations in the Dominican Republic.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began a formal investigation of Dell’s accounting and financial reporting matters. In August 2006, Dell revealed that the SEC was conducting an informal investigation regarding its accounting practices, including revenue recognition and end-of-quarter policies. The SEC first gave Dell notice about accounting practices in August 2005. Dell postponed reporting its quarterly results due to the “level of complexity” the company now faces with the SEC. BBC News, 11/17/2006

Miami resident Juan C. Arteaga initiated a class-action lawsuit against Dell Financial Services, LP, claiming the organization violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act by denying credit to individuals based on their ethnic backgrounds. According to the complaint, Dell had confirmed Mr. Arteaga's credit application and had already applied his down payment for a new computer system when he was notified that the credit application was being denied because the company's verification department believed that Mr.Arteaga could not speak English and that a non-English speaker could not guarantee an account on the grounds that they may not understand the terms and conditions of the agreement. The case argues that despite Mr. Arteaga's impeccable credit, Dell made a judgment based on his accent and ethnic background. Dell's refusal to provide him credit is being referred to as a "clear and direct violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act." Daily Business Review, 05/09/2006

In 2006, Kevin B. Rollins, Dell's Chief Executive Officer, made $9.07 million in total compensation including stock option grants from Dell Inc. From previous' years, Rollins has another $106.07 million in unexercised stock options. AFL-CIO, 04/05/2006

According to the Social Investment Research Analyst Network, ten years after the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission recommended disclosure of diversity data as a way to remove barriers and promote women and minority advancement, most US companies still fail to fully disclose Equal Employment Opportunity data to the public. Dell is listed as one of the companies that does not provide full public disclosure. Rather, full disclosure is only made available to the public upon request. Social Investment Research Analyst Network (SIRAN), 12/07/2005

According to the North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law (NCICL), Dell used unfair bargaining tactics to win $242 million in tax credits from the state government and an additional $37.2 million in local subsidies from city counsels in 2004. In the interest of creating more jobs, the state government made a generous deal with Dell involving perks such as a $15 per unit tax credit on every computer and consumer device produced in 2006, requiring local community colleges to create a Dell specific training program, and allowing $10,000 per year tuition deduction for Dell employees at Wake Forest University. In exchange, Dell was asked to meet limited constraints including covering some worker healthcare costs and not firing half of the plant's employees before an agreed upon date. The Register, 06/23/2005

During the 2002 election cycle, Dell gave $425,250 in soft money contributions, $415,250 of which went to Republicans, and $10,000 of which went to Democrats. Center for Responsive Politics