Commitments and Contingencies	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Commitments and Contingencies	17. Commitments and Contingencies Legal Matters We are subject to claims and a number of judicial and administrative proceedings considered normal in the course of our current and past operations, including employment-related disputes, contract disputes, disputes with our competitors, intellectual property disputes, government audits and proceedings, customer disputes, and tort claims. In some proceedings, the claimant seeks damages as well as other relief, which, if granted, would require substantial expenditures on our part. Our general terms and conditions in customer contracts frequently include a provision indicating we will indemnify and hold our customers harmless from and against any and all claims alleging that the services and materials furnished by us violate any third party’s patent, trade secret, copyright or other intellectual property right. We are not aware of any material pending litigation concerning these indemnifications. Some of these matters raise difficult and complex factual and legal issues and are subject to many uncertainties, including the facts and circumstances of each particular action, and the jurisdiction, forum, and law under which each action is proceeding. Because of these complexities, final disposition of some of these proceedings may not occur for several years. As such, we are not always able to estimate the amount of our possible future liabilities, if any. There can be no certainty that we may not ultimately incur charges in excess of presently established or future financial accruals or insurance coverage. Although occasional adverse decisions or settlements may occur, it is management’s opinion that the final disposition of these proceedings will not, considering the merits of the claims and available resources or reserves and insurance, and based upon the facts and circumstances currently known, have a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations. Unrecovered Duplicate Payments We identified an isolated service incident on September 26, 2019, that resulted in duplicate payments for certain of our U.S. payroll customers totaling $18.8 million. Through December 31, 2019, $11.2 million remained unrecovered, and we recorded a loss for the amount unrecovered within selling, general, and administrative expense in our consolidated statement of operations for the period ended December 31, 2019. Our recovery efforts continued through the second quarter of 2020, resulting in collections of $0.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2020, which was recognized as a reduction to selling, general, and administrative expense. We are no longer pursuing collection efforts of the remaining amount unrecovered. Environmental Matters We accrue for losses associated with environmental remediation obligations when such losses are probable and reasonably estimable. Accruals for estimated losses from environmental remediation obligations generally are recognized no later than completion of the remedial feasibility study. Such accruals are adjusted as further information develops or circumstances change. Costs of future expenditures for environmental remediation obligations are not discounted to their present value. In February 1988, our predecessor entered into an arrangement with Northern Engraving Corporation (“NEC”) and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (“MPCA”) in relation to groundwater contamination on a parcel of real estate sold by our predecessor to NEC. Ceridian is now responsible for the arrangement with NEC and the MPCA. The arrangement requires expense sharing between Ceridian and NEC for the remediation of groundwater contamination. In September 1989, our predecessor entered into an EMA with Seagate related to groundwater contamination on a parcel of real estate sold by our predecessor to Seagate. Ceridian is now responsible for the EMA. The EMA requires expense sharing between Ceridian and Seagate for the remediation of groundwater contamination up to a certain limit. We have recognized an environmental reserve liability equal to the EMA limit. We have recognized an undiscounted liability of approximately $4.8 million and $5.0 million as of December 31, 2020, and 2019, respectively, in our consolidated balance sheets to comply with the NEC arrangement and EMA described above. The ultimate cost, however, will depend on the extent of continued monitoring activities as these projects progress.

Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

17. Commitments and Contingencies

Legal Matters

We are subject to claims and a number of judicial and administrative proceedings considered normal in the course of our current and past operations, including employment-related disputes, contract disputes, disputes with our competitors, intellectual property disputes, government audits and proceedings, customer disputes, and tort claims. In some proceedings, the claimant seeks damages as well as other relief, which, if granted, would require substantial expenditures on our part.

Our general terms and conditions in customer contracts frequently include a provision indicating we will indemnify and hold our customers harmless from and against any and all claims alleging that the services and materials furnished by us violate any third party’s patent, trade secret, copyright or other intellectual property right. We are not aware of any material pending litigation concerning these indemnifications.

Some of these matters raise difficult and complex factual and legal issues and are subject to many uncertainties, including the facts and circumstances of each particular action, and the jurisdiction, forum, and law under which each action is proceeding. Because of these complexities, final disposition of some of these proceedings may not occur for several years. As such, we are not always able to estimate the amount of our possible future liabilities, if any.

There can be no certainty that we may not ultimately incur charges in excess of presently established or future financial accruals or insurance coverage. Although occasional adverse decisions or settlements may occur, it is management’s opinion that the final disposition of these proceedings will not, considering the merits of the claims and available resources or reserves and insurance, and based upon the facts and circumstances currently known, have a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations.

Unrecovered Duplicate Payments

We identified an isolated service incident on September 26, 2019, that resulted in duplicate payments for certain of our U.S. payroll customers totaling $18.8 million. Through December 31, 2019, $11.2 million remained unrecovered, and we recorded a loss for the amount unrecovered within selling, general, and administrative expense in our consolidated statement of operations for the period ended December 31, 2019. Our recovery efforts continued through the second quarter of 2020, resulting in collections of $0.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2020, which was recognized as a reduction to selling, general, and administrative expense. We are no longer pursuing collection efforts of the remaining amount unrecovered.

Environmental Matters

We accrue for losses associated with environmental remediation obligations when such losses are probable and reasonably estimable. Accruals for estimated losses from environmental remediation obligations generally are recognized no later than completion of the remedial feasibility study. Such accruals are adjusted as further information develops or circumstances change. Costs of future expenditures for environmental remediation obligations are not discounted to their present value.

In February 1988, our predecessor entered into an arrangement with Northern Engraving Corporation (“NEC”) and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (“MPCA”) in relation to groundwater contamination on a parcel of real estate sold by our predecessor to NEC. Ceridian is now responsible for the arrangement with NEC and the MPCA. The arrangement requires expense sharing between Ceridian and NEC for the remediation of groundwater contamination.

In September 1989, our predecessor entered into an EMA with Seagate related to groundwater contamination on a parcel of real estate sold by our predecessor to Seagate. Ceridian is now responsible for the EMA. The EMA requires expense sharing between Ceridian and Seagate for the remediation of groundwater contamination up to a certain limit. We have recognized an environmental reserve liability equal to the EMA limit.

We have recognized an undiscounted liability of approximately $4.8 million and $5.0 million as of December 31, 2020, and 2019, respectively, in our consolidated balance sheets to comply with the NEC arrangement and EMA described above. The ultimate cost, however, will depend on the extent of continued monitoring activities as these projects progress.