Comitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Aug. 31, 2022

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Contingencies and Litigation

Note 17.    Commitments and Contingencies

The Company had outstanding letters of credit of $10.7 million and $11.9 million at August 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, the majority of which relate to commercial contracts and self-insured workers' compensation programs.

As part of the Company's global sourcing strategy, we have entered into agreements with certain suppliers that require the supplier to maintain minimum levels of inventory to support certain products for which we require a short lead time to fulfill customer orders. We have the ability to notify the supplier that they no longer need maintain the minimum level of inventory should we discontinue manufacturing of a product during the contract period; however, we must purchase the remaining minimum inventory levels the supplier was required to maintain within a defined period of time.

The Company is a party to various legal proceedings that have arisen in the normal course of business. These legal proceedings include regulatory matters, product liability, breaches of contract, employment, personal injury and other disputes. The Company has recorded reserves for loss contingencies based on the specific circumstances of each case. Such reserves are recorded when it is probable a loss has been incurred and can be reasonably estimated. The Company maintains a policy to exclude from such reserves an estimate of legal defense costs. In the opinion of management, resolution of these contingencies is not expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

The Company remains contingently liable for lease payments under leases of businesses that it previously divested or spun-off in the event that such businesses are unable to fulfill their future lease payment obligations; however, the Company does not believe it is probable that it will be required to satisfy these obligations. Future minimum lease payments for these leases at August 31, 2022 were $3.7 million associated with monthly payments extending to fiscal 2025.

The Company has facilities in numerous geographic locations that are subject to environmental laws and regulations. Environmental expenditures over the past three years have not been material. Soil and groundwater contamination has been identified at certain facilities that we operate or formerly owned or operated. We are also a party to certain state and local environmental matters, have provided environmental indemnifications for certain divested businesses and retain responsibility for certain potential environmental liabilities. Management believes that such costs will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Additionally, in fiscal 2019, the Company provided voluntary self-disclosures to both Dutch and U.S. authorities related to sales of products and services linked to the Crimea region of Ukraine, which sales potentially violated European Union and U.S. sanctions provisions. Although the U.S. investigation closed without further implication, the Dutch investigation continued. The Dutch Investigator concluded his investigation in March 2022 and provided the results to the Public Prosecutor’s office for review. Specifically, the Investigator concluded that the sales transactions violated EU sanctions. The conclusion in the Investigator's report was consistent with the Company's understanding of what could be stated in the report and was the basis to record an expense in the fiscal year ended August 31, 2021, representing the low end of a reasonable range of financial penalties the Company may incur as no other point within the range was deemed more probable. The Company has not adjusted its estimate of financial penalties as a result of the completion of the investigation in the year ended August 31, 2022. While there can be no assurance of the ultimate outcome of the matter, the Company currently believes that there will be no material adverse effect on the Company's financial position, results of operations or cash flows from this matter.