Note 14 - Employee Benefit Plan

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Notes to Financial Statements

Compensation and Employee Benefit Plans [Text Block]

14 . EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN

Under the Partnership’s 

401

(k) Plan, which was instituted in

2009,

employees who meet specified service requirements

may

contribute a percentage of their total compensation, up to a specified maximum, to the

401

(k) Plan. The Partnership 

may

match each employee’s contribution, up to a specified maximum, in full or on a partial basis. The Partnership recognized expense of

$1.2

 million and

$1.1

 million for both of the years ended

December 31, 2018

and

2019

, respectively, for discretionary contributions under the

401

(k) Plan.

The Partnership

may

also make annual lump-sum contributions to the

401

(k) Plan irrespective of the employee’s contribution match. The Partnership

may

make a discretionary annual contribution in the form of profit sharing calculated as a percentage of an employee’s eligible compensation. This contribution is retirement income under the qualified

401

(k) Plan. Annual profit sharing contributions to the

401

(k) Plan are submitted to the Board for approval. The Partnership recognized expense of

$0.2

 million and

$0.7

 million for the years ended

December 31, 2018

and

2019

, respectively, for discretionary profit sharing contributions under the

401

(k) Plan.

Under the Partnership’s Employee Unit Purchase Plan (the “Unit Purchase Plan”), which was instituted in

January 2015,

employees have the opportunity to acquire or increase their ownership of common units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership. Eligible employees who enroll in the Unit Purchase Plan

may

elect to have a designated whole percentage, up to a specified maximum, of their eligible compensation for each pay period withheld for the purchase of common units at a discount to the then current market value. A maximum of

1,000,000

common units

may

be delivered under the Unit Purchase Plan, subject to adjustment for a recapitalization, split, reorganization, or similar event pursuant to the terms of the Unit Purchase Plan. The Partnership recognized expense of

$0.1

 million for the year ended

December 31, 2018

, and less than

$0.1

 million for the year ended

December 31, 2019

, in connection with the Unit Purchase Plan.