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Contingent Liabilities
3 Months Ended
Mar. 26, 2017
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Contingent Liabilities
CONTINGENT LIABILITIES
Restricted Cash
We were required to maintain $24.9 million of restricted cash as of March 26, 2017 and December 25, 2016, the majority of which is set aside to collateralize workers’ compensation obligations.
Newspaper and Mail Deliverers–Publishers’ Pension Fund
In September 2013, the Newspaper and Mail Deliverers-Publishers’ Pension Fund (the “NMDU Fund”) assessed a partial withdrawal liability against the Company in the amount of approximately $26 million for the plan years ending May 31, 2012 and 2013 (the “Initial Assessment”), an amount that was increased to approximately $34 million in December 2014, when the NMDU Fund issued a revised partial withdrawal liability assessment for the plan year ending May 31, 2013 (the “Revised Assessment”). The NMDU Fund claimed that when City & Suburban Delivery Systems, Inc., a retail and newsstand distribution subsidiary of the Company and the largest contributor to the NMDU 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 disagreed with both the NMDU Fund’s determination that a partial withdrawal occurred and the methodology by which it calculated the withdrawal liability, and the parties engaged in arbitration proceedings to resolve the matter. On June 14, 2016, the arbitrator issued an interim award and opinion that supported the NMDU Fund’s determination that a partial withdrawal had occurred, including concluding that the methodology used to calculate the Initial Assessment was correct. However, the arbitrator also concluded that the NMDU Fund’s calculation of the Revised Assessment was incorrect. The Company expects to appeal the arbitrator’s decision following the issuance of the final opinion and award.
Due to requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 that sponsors make payments demanded by plans during arbitration and any resultant appeals, the Company had been making payments to the NMDU fund since September 2013 relating to the Initial Assessment and February 2015 relating to the Revised Assessment based on the NMDU Fund’s demand. As a result, as of March 26, 2017, we have paid $12.6 million relating to the Initial Assessment since the receipt of the initial demand letter. We also paid $5.0 million related to the Revised Assessment, which was refunded in July 2016 based on the arbitrator’s ruling. The Company recognized $0.1 million and $1.8 million of expense for the first quarters of 2017 and 2016, respectively.
As a result of the interim opinion and award relating to the Initial Assessment, the Company had a liability of $8.9 million as of March 26, 2017. Management believes it is reasonably possible that the total loss in this matter could exceed the liability established by a range of zero to approximately $10 million.
NEMG T&G, Inc.
The Company has been involved in class action litigation brought on behalf of individuals who, from 2006 to 2011, delivered newspapers at NEMG T&G, Inc., a subsidiary of the Company (“T&G”). T&G was a part of the New England Media Group, which the Company sold in 2013. The plaintiffs asserted several claims against T&G, including a challenge to their classification as independent contractors, and sought unspecified damages. In December 2016, the Company reached a settlement with respect to the claims. This settlement remains subject to court approval. As a result of the settlement, the Company recorded a charge of $3.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2016 within discontinued operations.
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. Although the Company cannot predict the outcome of these matters, it is possible that an unfavorable outcome in one or more matters could be material to the Company’s consolidated results of operations or cash flows for an individual reporting period. However, based on currently available information, management does not believe that the ultimate resolution of these matters, individually or in the aggregate, is likely to have a material effect on the Company’s financial position.