STOCK-BASED EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

STOCK-BASED EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION [Abstract]

STOCK-BASED EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION

7. STOCK-BASED EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION

The Company has stock-based compensation plans for employees and non-employee members of the Board of Directors.  The plans provide for discretionary grants of stock options, shares of restricted stock, and other stock-based awards. The plans are administered by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors, consisting of non-employee directors.  The Company's recognition of stock-based compensation expense in the statement of operations over the vesting period is based on the fair value of the award at the grant date.

The following table summarizes activity under the Company's stock option plans for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009:

	Shares (In thousands)		Weighted Average Exercise Price		Remaining Contractual  Life (in years)	Aggregate Intrinsic Value  (in thousands)
Outstanding at January 1, 2009	1,301		$	20.76
Granted	-			-
Exercised	-			-
Forfeited, cancelled or expired	(531	)		24.35
Outstanding at December 31, 2009	770		$	18.28
Granted	-			-
Exercised	-			-
Forfeited, cancelled or expired	(480	)		20.56
Outstanding at December 31, 2010	290		$	14.29
Granted	-			-
Exercised	-			-
Forfeited, cancelled or expired	(290	)		14.29
Outstanding at December 31, 2011	-		$	-	-	$	-
Exercisable at December 31, 2011	-		$	-	-	$	-

The aggregate intrinsic value is calculated as the difference between the exercise price of the underlying awards and the closing price of our common stock on the date of determination for those awards that have an exercise price currently below the closing price.  As of December 31, 2011, there were no options outstanding to purchase shares with an exercise price below the quoted price of our common stock.  During the year ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, the aggregate intrinsic value of options exercised under the Company's stock option plans was $0, determined as of the date of exercise.

Restricted Stock Awards

The Company granted restricted stock awards of approximately 378,000 shares on May 22, 2009 under its 2008 long-term incentive compensation plan (“LTICP”), 311,000 shares on May 23, 2008 under its 2007 LTICP, 162,000 shares on May 25, 2007 under its 2006 LTICP and 145,000 and 4,000 shares on May 23, 2006 and June 15, 2006, respectively, under its 2005 LTICP. The restricted stock awards were granted to certain employees, including officers and members of the Board of Directors, at grant prices of $1.46, $7.85, $16.79, $16.52 and $15.78 (in each case, the average of the high and low stock price from the previous day of trading) for the May 22, 2009, May 23, 2008, May 25, 2007, May 23, 2006 and the June 15, 2006 grants, respectively.  The restricted stock awards vest annually over a period of three years from the date of grant for the awards made under the 2008 and 2007 LTICPs and over a period of four years for the awards made under the 2006 and 2005 LTICPs, with accelerated vesting upon a change of control of the Company (as defined in the applicable plan).  During the restriction period, award holders do not have the rights of stockholders and cannot transfer ownership. Additionally, nonvested shares of award holders are subject to forfeiture.  These awards are forfeited and revert to the Company in the event of employment termination, except in the case of death, disability, retirement or other specified events.

The following table summarizes restricted stock activity under the Company's long-term incentive compensation plans for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009:

	Number of Shares (in thousands)		Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value
Outstanding at January 1, 2009	465		$	11.11
Granted	378			1.46
Vested	(164	)		11.46
Forfeited	(85	)		6.11
Outstanding at December 31, 2009	594		$	5.58
Granted	-			-
Vested	(242	)		7.09
Forfeited	(100	)		4.39
Outstanding at December 31, 2010	252		$	4.60
Granted	-			-
Vested	(125	)		5.90
Forfeited	(66	)		5.03
Outstanding at December 31, 2011	61		$	1.46

The Company recognized approximately $160, $1,263 and $1,839 of compensation costs related to the LTICPs during the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.  Additionally, as of December 31, 2011, there was approximately $35, $167, and $191 of unrecognized compensation cost related to restricted stock awards granted under the Company's 2008, 2007, and 2006 LTICPs, respectively.  The cost is expected to be recognized over a remaining weighted-average period of 0.4, 1.4, and 0.4 years under the 2008, 2007, and 2006 LTICPs, respectively.  There were 125,000 shares of restricted stock that vested during the year ended December 31, 2011 that had been granted under the 2008, 2007 and 2006 LTICPs.

Availability for Future Issuance – As of December 31, 2011, (i) options to purchase approximately 1,973,000 shares of the Company's common stock were available for future issuance under the Company's stock option plans and (ii) options to purchase a maximum of approximately 808,000 shares of the Company's common stock were available for future issuance under the Company's LTICPs, reduced by four shares for each share of restricted stock awarded under the 2006 and 2005 LTICPs, under which an aggregate of approximately 210,000 shares of the 808,000 total shares were available for issuance as options, and reduced by two shares for each share of restricted stock awarded under the 2008 and 2007 LTICPs, under which an aggregate of approximately 598,000 of the 808,000 total shares were available for issuance as options.