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Note 8 - Fair Value Measurements
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2014
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]  
Fair Value Disclosures [Text Block]
8.  Fair Value Measurements

The accounting standards of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, define fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability at the measurement date (an exit price). These standards also establish a hierarchy that prioritizes observable and unobservable inputs used in measuring fair value of an asset or liability, as described below:

 
·
Level 1 – Inputs to measure fair value are based on quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets on identical assets or liabilities;

 
·
Level 2 – Inputs to measure fair value are based on the following: a) quoted prices in active markets on similar assets or liabilities, b) quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in inactive markets, or c) observable (other than quoted prices) or collaborated observable market data used in a pricing model from which the fair value is derived; and

 
·
Level 3 – Inputs to measure fair value are unobservable and the assets or liabilities have little, if any, market activity; these inputs reflect the Company’s own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the assets or liabilities based on best information available in the circumstances.

The Company measures fair value based on the prices that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Fair value measurements are based on a three-tier hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value. These tiers include: Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets; Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable; and Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs for which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions.

The Company classifies its cash equivalents and short-term investments as Level 1 assets, as they are valued on a recurring basis using quoted market prices with no valuation adjustments applied. The Company does not hold any Level 2 or Level 3 instruments that are measured for fair value on a recurring basis.

The fair values of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities measured on a recurring basis, as of September 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013, are as follows:

   
Total
   
Quoted Prices in
Active Markets for
Identical Assets
 (Level 1)
   
Significant Other
Observable Inputs
 (Level 2)
   
Significant
Unobservable Inputs
(Level 3)
  
   
(in thousands)
 
Cash equivalents:
                       
Money market accounts
  $ 40,013     $ 40,013     $ —     $ —  
Restricted short-term investments:
                               
Certificates of deposit
    1,495       1,495       —       —  
                                 
Fair value measurement as of September 30, 2014
  $ 41,508     $ 41,508     $ —     $ —  
                         
Cash equivalents:
                       
Money market accounts
  $ 41,183     $ 41,183     $ —     $ —  
Restricted short-term investments:
                               
Certificates of deposit
    1,325       1,325       —       —  
                                 
Fair value measurement as of December 31, 2013
  $ 42,508     $ 42,508     $ —     $ —  

The fair value of the Company’s cash equivalents includes money market funds and certificates of deposit with maturities of one year or less. Short-term investments consist of certificate of deposit accounts that expire within 12 months for which market prices are readily available. The restrictions placed on the certificate of deposit accounts have a negligible effect on the fair value of these financial assets; these funds are restricted to meet the Company’s obligation for workers’ compensation claims.

The Company adopted the required fair value measurements and disclosures provisions related to nonfinancial assets and liabilities. These assets and liabilities are not measured at fair value on a recurring basis but are subject to fair value adjustments in certain circumstances. These items primarily include long-lived assets, goodwill, and intangible assets for which the fair value of assets is determined as part of the related impairment test. As of September 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013, there were no significant adjustments to fair value for nonfinancial assets or liabilities.