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Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
18. Commitments and Contingencies

Employment Agreements



At December 31, 2021, the Company had outstanding employment agreements with four of its executive officers. The agreements have terms that expire November 8, 2022, July 1, 2023, December 31, 2023, and February 28, 2024; however, each of these agreements provide for an automatic two-year renewal at the conclusion of the expiring term or renewal term.
 

In addition, the Company has outstanding employment agreements with most of the managing physical therapist partners of the Company’s physical therapy clinics and with certain other clinic employees which obligate subsidiaries of the Company to pay compensation of $52.8 million in 2022 and $8.4 million in the aggregate from 2023 through 2024. In addition, many of the employment agreements with the managing physical therapists provide for monthly bonus payments calculated as a percentage of each clinic’s net revenues (not in excess of operating profits) or operating profits.
 
Litigation

Settlement of  a Legal Matter


On August 19, 2019, we received notice of a qui tam lawsuit (“the Complaint”) filed by a relator on behalf of the United States, titled U.S. ex rel. Bonnie Elsdon, v. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc., U.S. Physical Therapy, Ltd., Rehab Partners #2, Inc., The Hale Hand Center, Limited Partnership (the “Hale Partnership”), and Suzanne Hale.   This whistleblower lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, seeking damages and civil penalties under the federal False Claim Act.  This lawsuit was originally filed under seal by a former employee of The Hale Hand Center, Limited Partnership (“Hale Partnership”), a majority-owned subsidiary of the Company, on May 25, 2018.  The U.S Government declined to intervene in the case and unsealed the Complaint on July 17, 2019.


The Complaint alleged that the Hale Partnership engaged in conduct to purposely “upcode” its billings for services provided to Medicare patients. The plaintiff - relator also claimed that similar false claims occurred on other days and at other Company-owned partnerships.


On October 3, 2019, we filed Motions to Dismiss based on numerous grounds on behalf of each of the named defendants. On October 29, 2019, the plaintiff-relator dismissed three of the named defendants, Rehab Partners #2, Inc., U.S. Physical Therapy, Ltd., and Suzanne Hale. The Motions to Dismiss were denied on November 30, 2020.


In January 2022, to avoid the legal fees and discovery costs in defending this matter and the uncertainty of protracted litigation, the Company entered into a settlement agreement with the plaintiff-relator. In the settlement agreement, the plaintiff-relator released all defendants from liability for all conduct alleged in the Complaint, and the Company admitted no liability or wrongdoing.  In connection with the settlement, the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas agreed to a dismissal of the claims against the Hale Partnership and the Company. Under the terms of the settlement, the Company agreed to make payments to the government, the plaintiff-relator and her counsel. Such payments, in the aggregate, amounted to $2.75 million of which $2.6 million was recorded as an expense in 2021