Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

16. Commitments and Contingencies

Leases

The Company leases certain facilities and equipment under operating lease arrangements. Aggregate minimum rental commitments at December 31, 2016, for all noncancelable operating leases with an initial lease term greater than one year for the years ending December 31 are as follows: 2017, $8.2 million; 2018, $5.5 million; 2019, $3.6 million; 2020, $2.7 million; 2021, $1.8 million and $3.5 million thereafter.

Rent expense from continuing operations totaled $12.4 million, $12.3 million and $10.7 million during the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

Commercial Litigation

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Civil Complaint

On September 21, 2015, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a civil complaint against Sensient Natural Ingredients LLC (SNI) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. SNI is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. The EEOC’s complaint alleges that SNI failed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as amended, when it terminated five employees in 2011. The EEOC seeks to enjoin SNI from engaging in employment practices that discriminate on the basis of disability; asks the Court to order SNI to implement policies, practices, and programs to ensure it does not violate the ADA; and requests back pay with prejudgment interest, reinstatement, front pay, compensation for past and future pecuniary and non-pecuniary losses, and punitive damages on behalf of the five named former employees and any similarly aggrieved individuals.  Recoverable compensatory and punitive damages are subject to statutory caps. The complaint does not request a specific damages amount.  To date, the EEOC has provided the Company with a list of 13 additional potentially aggrieved former employees not listed in the complaint who may have been terminated in violation of the ADA during the relevant time period. In its discovery responses, the EEOC has identified 3 of those 13 former employees as additional claimants for whom the Agency seeks relief.

On September 20, 2016, the Company and the EEOC engaged in a mediation session in which the parties worked to settle this matter.  As of December 31, 2016 and the date of this annual report on Form 10-K, the parties are still negotiating and attempting to finalize the terms of a settlement agreement, but the Company accrued $0.6 million for the settlement of this matter during 2016.

Other Claims

The Company is subject to various claims and litigation arising in the normal course of business. The Company establishes reserves for claims and proceedings when it is probable that liabilities exist and reasonable estimates of loss can be made. While it is not possible to predict the outcome of these matters, based on our assessment of the facts and circumstances now known, we do not believe that these matters, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on our financial position. However, actual outcomes may be different from those expected and could have a material effect on our results of operations or cash flows in a particular period.