COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

15. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Legal Proceedings

General.  The nature of CoreCivic's business results in claims and litigation alleging that it is liable for damages arising from the conduct of its employees, offenders or others.  The nature of such claims includes, but is not limited to, claims arising from employee or offender misconduct, medical malpractice, employment matters, property loss, contractual claims, including claims regarding compliance with contract performance requirements, and personal injury or other damages resulting from contact with CoreCivic's facilities, personnel or offenders, including damages arising from an offender's escape or from a disturbance at a facility.  CoreCivic maintains insurance to cover many of these claims, which may mitigate the risk that any single claim would have a material effect on CoreCivic's consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows, provided the claim is one for which coverage is available.  The combination of self-insured retentions and deductible amounts means that, in the aggregate, CoreCivic is subject to substantial self-insurance risk.  

CoreCivic records litigation reserves related to certain matters for which it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the range of such loss can be estimated.  Based upon management's review of the potential claims and outstanding litigation, and based upon management's experience and history of estimating losses, and taking into consideration CoreCivic's self-insured retention amounts, management believes a loss in excess of amounts already recognized would not be material to CoreCivic's financial statements.  In the opinion of management, there are no pending legal proceedings that would have a material effect on CoreCivic's consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.  Any receivable for insurance recoveries is recorded separately from the corresponding litigation reserve, and only if recovery is determined to be probable.  Adversarial proceedings and litigation are, however, subject to inherent uncertainties, and unfavorable decisions and rulings resulting from legal proceedings could occur which could have a material adverse impact on CoreCivic's consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows for the period in which such decisions or rulings occur, or future periods.  Expenses associated with legal proceedings may also fluctuate from quarter to quarter based on changes in CoreCivic's assumptions, new developments, or by the effectiveness of CoreCivic's litigation and settlement strategies.

Insurance Contingencies

Each of CoreCivic's management contracts and the statutes of certain states require the maintenance of insurance. CoreCivic maintains various insurance policies including employee health, workers' compensation, automobile liability, and general liability insurance.  These policies are fixed premium policies with various deductible amounts that are self-funded by CoreCivic.  Reserves are provided for estimated incurred claims for which it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the range of such loss can be estimated.

Retirement Plan

All employees of CoreCivic are eligible to participate in the CoreCivic 401(k) Savings and Retirement Plan (the "Plan") upon reaching age 18 and completing one year of qualified service.  Eligible employees may contribute up to 90% of their eligible compensation, subject to IRS limitations.  For the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, CoreCivic provided a discretionary matching contribution equal to 100% of the employee's contributions up to 5% of the employee's eligible compensation to employees with at least one thousand hours of employment in the plan year. Employer matching contributions paid into the Plan each pay period vest immediately pursuant to safe harbor provisions adopted by the Plan.

During 2018, 2017, and 2016, CoreCivic's discretionary contributions to the Plan, net of forfeitures, were $13.2 million, $12.3 million, and $12.0 million, respectively.

Deferred Compensation Plans

CoreCivic provides two non-qualified deferred compensation plans (the "Deferred Compensation Plans") for non-employee directors and for certain senior executives.  The Deferred Compensation Plans are unfunded plans maintained for the purpose of providing CoreCivic's directors and certain of its senior executives the opportunity to defer a portion of their compensation.  Under the terms of the Deferred Compensation Plans, certain senior executives may elect to contribute on a pre-tax basis up to 50% of their base salary and up to 100% of their cash bonus, and non-employee directors may elect to contribute on a pre-tax basis up to 100% of their director retainer and meeting fees.  During the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, CoreCivic matched 100% of employee contributions up to 5% of total cash compensation.  CoreCivic also contributes a fixed rate of return on balances in the Deferred Compensation Plans, determined at the beginning of each plan year.  Matching contributions and investment earnings thereon become vested 20% after two years of service, 40% after three years of service, 80% after four years of service, and 100% after five or more years of service.  Distributions are generally payable no earlier than five years subsequent to the date an individual becomes a participant in the Plan, or upon termination of employment (or the date a director ceases to serve as a director of CoreCivic), at the election of the participant.  Distributions to senior executives must commence on or before the later of 60 days after the participant's separation from service or the fifteenth day of the month following the month the individual attains age 65.

During 2018, 2017, and 2016, CoreCivic provided a fixed return of 5.0%, 5.0%, and 5.45%, respectively, to participants in the Deferred Compensation Plans.  CoreCivic has purchased life insurance policies on the lives of certain employees of CoreCivic, which are intended to fund distributions from the Deferred Compensation Plans.  CoreCivic is the sole beneficiary of such policies.  At the inception of the Deferred Compensation Plans, CoreCivic established an irrevocable Rabbi Trust to secure the plans' obligations.  However, assets in the Deferred Compensation Plans are subject to creditor claims in the event of bankruptcy.  During 2018, 2017, and 2016, CoreCivic recorded $0.3 million, $0.1 million, and $0.2 million, respectively, of matching contributions as general and administrative expense associated with the Deferred Compensation Plans.  Assets in the Rabbi Trust were $14.0 million and $13.5 million as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, CoreCivic's liability related to the Deferred Compensation Plans was $12.3 million and $11.0 million, respectively, which was reflected in accounts payable and accrued expenses and other liabilities in the accompanying balance sheets.

Employment and Severance Agreements

CoreCivic currently has employment agreements with several of its executive officers, which provide for the payment of certain severance amounts upon termination of employment under certain circumstances or a change of control, as defined in the agreements.