Contingent Liabilities

9 Months Ended

Sep. 27, 2015

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Contingent Liabilities

CONTINGENT LIABILITIES

Restricted Cash

We were required to maintain $29.0 million of restricted cash as of September 27, 2015 and $30.2 million as of December 28, 2014, primarily related to certain collateral requirements for obligations under our workers’ compensation programs.

Newspaper and Mail Deliverers–Publishers’ Pension Fund

In September 2013, the Newspaper and Mail Deliverers-Publishers’ Pension Fund (the “Fund”) assessed a partial withdrawal liability to the Company in the amount of $26 million for the plan years ending May 31, 2012 and 2013, an amount that was increased to approximately $34 million in December 2014, when the Fund issued a revised partial withdrawal liability assessment for the plan year ending May 31, 2013. The Fund claims that when City & Suburban Delivery Systems, Inc., a retail and newsstand distribution subsidiary of the Company and the largest contributor to the Fund, ceased operations in 2009, it triggered a decline of more than 70% in contribution base units in each of these two plan years. The Company disagrees with both the Fund’s determination that a partial withdrawal occurred and the methodology by which it calculated the withdrawal liability, and the matter is currently being arbitrated. We do not believe that a loss is probable on this matter and have not recorded a loss contingency for the period ended September 27, 2015. However, as required by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, we have been making the quarterly payments to the Fund set forth in the demand letters. As of September 27, 2015, we made total payments of $9.8 million since the receipt of the initial demand letter, including $5.3 million in 2015.

Other

We are involved in various legal actions incidental to our business that are now pending against us. These actions are generally for amounts greatly in excess of the payments, if any, that may be required to be made. It is the opinion of management after reviewing these actions with our legal counsel that the ultimate liability that might result from these actions would not have a material adverse effect on our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.