Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]

11.	Commitments and Contingencies

Agar v. Sensient Natural Ingredients LLC

On March 29, 2019, Calvin Agar (Agar), a former employee, filed a Class Action Complaint in Stanislaus County Superior Court against Sensient Natural Ingredients LLC (SNI). On May 22, 2019, Agar filed a First Amended Class Action Complaint against SNI (the Complaint). Agar alleges that SNI improperly reported overtime pay on employees’ wage statements, in violation of the California Labor Code. The Complaint alleges two causes of action, both of which concern the wage statements.

The Complaint does not allege that SNI failed to pay any overtime due to Agar or any of the putative class or group members. The Complaint merely challenges the manner in which SNI has reported overtime pay on its wage statements.

SNI maintains that it has accurately paid Agar and the putative class members for all overtime worked, and that they have not experienced any harm. SNI further maintains that the format of its wage statements does not violate the requirements of state law or any specific guidance from California decisional law, the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, or the California Labor Commissioner's Office. Finally, SNI contended that certain of the state law claims are subject to mandatory individual arbitration.

SNI filed its Answer and Affirmative Defenses to the Complaint on July 10, 2019. The parties participated in an early mediation in the case in December 2019, which was not successful. On March 17, 2020, the Court granted Agar leave to file a Second Amended Complaint, which removed the claim that SNI had asserted was subject to mandatory individual arbitration. SNI filed a Demurrer to the Second Amended Complaint, seeking dismissal of the remaining claim, on May 1, 2020. SNI continues to evaluate the developing legal authority on this issue. SNI intends to vigorously defend its interests, absent a reasonable resolution.

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.

Refer to Note 2, Divestitures, for information about potential environmental remediation costs associated with our Granada, Spain location. The amount of any losses related to such remediation cannot be reasonably estimated at this time.