401(k) Plans. The Company has established 401(k) plans covering all employees after certain eligibility requirements are met. Amounts charged to operations for employer contributions related to the plans totaled $1,603, $1,488, and $1,299 for 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively.

Post-Employment Benefits. The Company sponsors life insurance coverage as well as medical benefits, including prescription drug coverage, to certain retired employees and their spouses. In 2014, the Company made a change to the plan to terminate post-employment health care and life insurance benefits for all union employees except for a specified grandfathered group. At December 31, 2019, the plan covered 166 participants, both active and retired. The post-employment health care benefit is contributory for spouses under certain circumstances. Otherwise, participant contribution premiums are not required. The health care plan contains fixed deductibles, co-pays, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket limitations. The life insurance segment of the plan is noncontributory and is available to retirees only.

The Company funds the post-employment benefit on a pay-as-you-go basis, and there are no assets that have been segregated and restricted to provide for post-employment benefits. Benefit eligibility for the current remaining grandfathered active group (23 employees) is age 62 and 5 years of service. The Company pays claims and premiums as they are submitted. The Company provides varied levels of benefits to participants depending upon the date of retirement and the location in which the employee worked. An older group of grandfathered retirees receives lifetime health care coverage. All other retirees receive coverage to age 65 through continuation of the Company group medical plan and a lump sum advance premium to the MediGap carrier of the retiree’s choice. Life insurance is available over the lifetime of the retiree in all cases.

As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, total current benefit obligation recorded in Accrued expense on the Consolidated Balance Sheets was $441 and $467, respectively. As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, total noncurrent benefit obligation was $2,509 and $2,595, which was recorded in Other noncurrent liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets, respectively.

The Company currently has two active share-based compensation plans: the Employee Equity Incentive Plan of 2014 (the "2014 Plan") and the Non-Employee Director Equity Incentive Plan (the "Directors' Plan"). The plans were approved by shareholders at the Company’s annual meeting in May 2014. The 2014 Plan replaced the 2004 Plan. Detail of activities in both plans follows below.

The Company’s share-based compensation plans provide for the awarding of stock options, stock appreciation rights, and shares of restricted stock and RSUs for senior executives and salaried employees, as well as for outside directors. Compensation expense related to restricted stock awards is based on the market price of the stock on the date the Board of Directors communicates the approved award and is amortized over the vesting period of the restricted stock award. The

For long-term incentive awards to be granted in the form of RSUs in 2020 based on 2019 results, the Human Resources and Compensation Committee ("HRCC") determined that the grants would have performance conditions that would be based on the same performance metrics as the Short-Term Incentive Plan (the "STI Plan"). The performance metrics are operating income, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization ("EBITDA"), and EPS. Because management determined at the beginning of 2019 that the performance metrics would most likely be met, amortization of the estimated dollar pool of RSUs to be awarded based on 2019 results was started in the first quarter over an estimated 48 month period, including 12 months to the grant date and an additional 36 months to the vesting date. The Consolidated Statements of Income for 2019, 2018, and 2017 reflects share-based compensation costs for grants to be awarded of $123, $821, and $491, respectively.

At the Company’s annual meeting in May 2014, shareholders approved a new Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the "ESPP Plan") with 300,000 shares registered for employee purchase. The ESPP Plan is not active at this time. The Company’s former employee stock purchase plan continued in use until its termination during 2017.

The 2014 Plan, with 1,500,000 shares registered for future grants, provides that vesting occurs pursuant to the time period specified in the particular award agreement approved for that issuance of RSUs, which is to be not less than three years unless vesting is accelerated due to the occurrence of certain events. As of December 31, 2019, 344,190 RSUs had been granted of the 1,500,000 shares approved for under the 2014 Plan.

The Director’s Plan, with 300,000 shares registered for future grants, provides that vesting occurs pursuant to the time period specified in the particular award agreement approved for that issuance of equity. As of December 31, 2019, 83,683 shares were granted of the 300,000 shares approved for grants under the Directors’ Plan and all 83,683 shares were vested.

Under the 2004 Plan, as amended, the Company granted incentives (including stock options and restricted stock awards) for up to 2,680,000 shares of the Company’s Common Stock to salaried, full time employees, including executive officers. The term of each award generally was determined by the committee of the Board of Directors charged with administering the 2004 Plan. Under the terms of the 2004 Plan, any options granted were non-qualified stock options, exercisable within ten years and had an exercise price of not less than the fair value of the Company’s Common Stock on the date of the grant. As of December 31, 2019, no stock options and no unvested restricted stock shares (net of forfeitures) remained outstanding under the 2004 Plan. No future grants can be made under the 2004 Plan.

In 2012, the 2004 Plan was amended to provide for grants in the form of RSUs. The awards entitle participants to receive shares of stock following the end of a five year vesting period. Participants have no voting of dividend rights under the awards that were granted; however, the awards provide for payment of dividend equivalents when dividends are paid to stockholders. During January 2019, the remaining 145,000 RSUs under the 2004 Plan vested. As of December 31, 2019, there were no unvested RSUs under the 2004 Plan and no RSU awards were available for future grants under the 2004 Plan.


	Year Ended December 31,
	2019				2018					2017
	Units	Weighted Average Grant-Date Fair Value		Units	Weighted Average Grant-Date Fair Value		Units	Weighted Average Grant-Date Fair Value
Unvested balance at beginning of year	329,205	$	25.42	368,492	$	17.20	527,486	$	10.17
Granted	45,993	77.78		42,136	78.37		47,514	42.93
Forfeited	(22,934)	57.27		(1,080)	28.30		(3,508)	25.74
Vested	(235,409)	12.54		(80,343)	15.42		(203,000)	4.82
Unvested balance at end of year	116,855	$	65.73	329,205	$	25.42	368,492	$	17.20

During 2019, 2018, and 2017, the total grant date fair value of RSU awards vested was $2,951, $1,239, and $979, respectively. As of December 31, 2019 there was $2,745 of total estimated unrecognized compensation costs (net of estimated forfeitures) related to granted RSU awards. These costs are expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of approximately 2.2 years.

Upon their vesting, the Company purchased restricted stock and RSUs from employees to cover associated withholding taxes. Total treasury stock purchases added 77,481 shares for $5,489 in 2019; 27,214 shares for $2,324 in 2018; and 74,132 shares for $4,663 in 2017.

Annual Cash Incentive Plan. The STI Plan was amended and restated as of January 1, 2019. The STI Plan is designed to motivate and retain the Company’s officers and employees and tie short-term incentive compensation to achievement of certain profitability goals by the Company. Pursuant to the STI Plan, short-term incentive compensation is dependent on the achievement of certain performance metrics by the Company, established by the Board of Directors. Each performance metric is calculated in accordance with the rules approved by the HRCC, which may adjust the results to eliminate unusual items. For 2019, 2018, and 2017, the performance metrics were operating income, EBITDA, and EPS. Operating income for the performance metric was defined as reported GAAP operating income adjusted for certain discretionary items as determined by the Company’s management, if applicable ("adjusted operating income"). The HRCC determines the officers and employees eligible to participate under the STI Plan for the plan year as well as the target annual incentive compensation for each participant for each plan year.

Deferred Compensation Plan. The Company established an unfunded Executive Deferred Compensation Plan ("EDC Plan") effective as of June 30, 2018, with a purpose to attract and retain highly-compensated key employees by providing participants with an opportunity to defer receipt of a portion of their salary, bonus, and other specified compensation. The Company's obligations under this plan will change in conjunction with the performance of the participants’ investments, along with contributions to and withdrawals from the plan. Realized and unrealized gains (losses) on deferred compensation plan investments were insignificant and were included as a component of Operating income in the Company's Consolidated Statements of Income, because the Company's deferred compensation investments consist of mutual funds that are considered trading securities.

Plan investments are classified as Level 1 in the fair value hierarchy since the investments trade with sufficient frequency and volume to enable the Company to obtain pricing information on an ongoing basis. From plan inception through December 31, 2018, participants were only able to direct the deferral of a portion of their 2018 STI Plan amounts that were paid during first quarter 2019. At the time of payment, the amounts elected for deferral were deposited into the EDC Plan by the Company and allocated by participants among Company-determined investment options. For 2019, participants were able to direct the deferral of a portion of their 2019 base salary and a portion of their estimated accrued 2019 STI Plan amount. Base salary amounts elected for deferral are deposited into the EDC Plan by the Company on a weekly basis and allocated by participants among Company-determined investment options.

The current portion of deferred compensation plan deferrals is comprised of estimated amounts to be paid within one year depending on timing of planned disbursements. At December 31, 2019, the EDC Plan investments were $1,185 which were recorded in Other assets on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheet. There were no Plan assets at December 31, 2018. The