LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
We are a defendant in several lawsuits containing class or collective action allegations in which the plaintiffs are current and former hourly and salaried associates who allege violations of various wage and hour laws, rules and regulations pertaining to alleged misclassification of certain of our employees and the failure to pay overtime and/or the failure to pay for missed meal and rest periods. The complaints generally seek unspecified monetary damages, injunctive relief, or both. Further, certain of these proceedings are in jurisdictions with reputations for aggressive application of laws and procedures against corporate defendants. We also are a defendant in several putative or certified class action lawsuits in California relating to alleged failure to comply with California laws pertaining to certain operational, marketing and payroll practices. The California laws alleged to have been violated in each of these lawsuits provide the potential for significant statutory penalties. At this time, the Company is not able to either predict the outcome of these lawsuits or reasonably estimate a potential range of loss with respect to the lawsuits.
We are subject to various other legal and governmental proceedings and investigations, including some involving the practices and procedures in our more highly regulated businesses and many involving litigation incidental to those and other businesses. Some matters contain class action allegations, environmental and asbestos exposure allegations and other consumer-based, regulatory or qui tam claims, each of which may seek compensatory, punitive or treble damage claims (potentially in large amounts), as well as other types of relief. Additionally, some of these claims or actions, such as the qui-tam claims, have the potential for significant statutory penalties.
In accordance with accounting standards regarding loss contingencies, we accrue an undiscounted liability for those contingencies where the incurrence of a loss is probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated, and we disclose the amount accrued and the amount of a reasonably possible loss in excess of the amount accrued, if such disclosure is necessary for our financial statements to not be misleading. We do not record liabilities when the likelihood that the liability has been incurred is probable but the amount cannot be reasonably estimated, or when the liability is believed to be only reasonably possible or remote.
Because litigation outcomes are inherently unpredictable, our evaluation of legal proceedings often involves a series of complex assessments by management about future events and can rely heavily on estimates and assumptions. If the assessments indicate that loss contingencies that could be material to any one of our financial statements are not probable, but are reasonably possible, or are probable, but cannot be estimated, then we disclose the nature of the loss contingencies, together with an estimate of the range of possible loss or a statement that such loss is not reasonably estimable. While the consequences of certain unresolved proceedings are not presently determinable, and an estimate of the probable and reasonably possible loss or range of loss in excess of amounts accrued for such proceedings cannot be reasonably made, an adverse outcome from such proceedings could have a material effect on our earnings in any given reporting period. However, in the opinion of our management, after consulting with legal counsel, and taking into account insurance and reserves, the ultimate liability related to current outstanding matters is not expected to have a material effect on our financial position, liquidity or capital resources.
