12. Commitments & Contingent Liabilities	12 Months Ended
12. Commitments & Contingent Liabilities	Dec. 31, 2016
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]	12. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES Rents and Leases Rental expense under operating leases was $44.4 million, $45.0 million and $46.9 million in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Leases are principally for facilities and automobiles. We had no sublease income. Annual future minimum lease payments at December 31, 2016 under operating leases are as follows: 2017 - $42.1 million; 2018 - $32.1 million; 2019 - $24.7 million; 2020 - $20.4 million; and 2021 and beyond - $38.8 million. Deferred Profit Sharing Retirement Plan We have a profit sharing plan covering substantially all U.S. employees. Contributions are made at the discretion of the Board of Directors. Bio-Rad has no liability other than for the current year’s contribution. Contribution expense was $15.1 million, $14.7 million and $13.7 million in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Other Post-Employment Benefits In several foreign locations we are statutorily required to provide a lump sum severance or termination indemnity to our employees. Under these plans, the vested benefit obligation at December 31, 2016 and 2015 was $68.0 million and $68.6 million, respectively, and has been included in Accrued payroll and employee benefits and Other long-term liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Most plans are not required to be funded, and as such, there is no trust or other device used to accumulate assets to settle these obligations. However, some of these plans require funding based on local laws in which there is a trust or other device used to accumulate assets to assist in settling these obligations. Purchase Obligations As of December 31, 2016, we had obligations that have been recognized on our balance sheet of $142.9 million, which include purchases of goods and services that are enforceable and legally binding to Bio-Rad and that specify all significant terms and exclude agreements that are cancelable without penalty. These obligations also include other post-employment benefits in some of our foreign locations as indicated above. The annual future fixed and determinable portion of our purchase obligations that have been recognized on our balance sheet as of December 31, 2016 are as follows: 2017 - $34.3 million, 2018 - $7.3 million, 2019 - $3.1 million, 2020 - $2.5 million, 2021 - $1.6 million and after 2021 - $94.1 million. As of December 31, 2016, we had purchase obligations that have not been recognized on our balance sheet of $35.0 million, which include agreements to purchase goods or services that are enforceable and legally binding to Bio-Rad and that specify all significant terms and exclude agreements that are cancelable without penalty. The annual future fixed and determinable portion of our purchase obligations that have not been recognized on our balance sheet as of December 31, 2016 are as follows: 2017 - $17.5 million, 2018 - $5.0 million, 2019 - $3.5 million, 2020 - $3.5 million, 2021 - $5.5 million and after 2021 - $0 million. Letters of Credit/Guarantees In the ordinary course of business, we are at times required to post letters of credit/guarantees. The letters of credit/guarantees are issued by financial institutions to guarantee our obligations to various parties. We were contingently liable for $5.4 million of standby letters of credit/guarantees with financial institutions as of December 31, 2016. Contingent Consideration During the first quarter of 2016, we recognized a contingent consideration liability upon our acquisition of a new high performance analytical flow cytometer platform from Propel. At the acquisition date, the contingent consideration was based on a probability-weighted income approach related to the achievement of sales milestones, ranging from 39% to 20% for the calendar years 2017 through 2020. The sales milestones could potentially range from $0 to an unlimited amount through December 31, 2020. The fair value of the contingent consideration as of the acquisition date was $23.3 million, after the effects of a calculation revision that were reflected in the fourth quarter of 2016. The contingent consideration was recognized at its estimated fair value of $25.4 million as of December 31, 2016. In 2014, we recognized a contingent consideration liability upon our acquisition of GnuBIO, Inc. The contingent consideration for the milestones was valued at $10.7 million at the acquisition date based on assumptions regarding the probability of achieving the milestones, with such amounts discounted to present value. The Level 3 contingent consideration was revalued to a fair value of $10.0 million as of December 31, 2016 and 2015. In 2012, we recognized a contingent consideration liability for certain milestones of $44.6 million upon our acquisition of a new cell sorting system from Propel. Since 2012, we have paid $28.9 million upon reaching the milestones and have reduced the valuation of the milestones by $12.6 million to its estimated fair value of $3.1 million as of December 31, 2016. The remaining liability was paid in February 2017. Concentrations of Labor Subject to Collective Bargaining Agreements At December 31, 2016, approximately seven percent of Bio-Rad's approximately 3,300 U.S. employees were covered by a collective bargaining agreement, which will expire on November 7, 2019. Many of Bio-Rad's non-U.S. full-time employees, especially in France, are covered by collective bargaining agreements.