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Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Non-Compete, Consulting and Employment Agreements
We have various non-compete agreements with former owners and employees. These agreements are generally for one to ten years and provide for periodic future payments over the term of the agreements.
We have various consulting agreements with former owners of businesses we have acquired. Payments for such agreements are generally not made in advance. These agreements are generally for one to five years and provide for bi-weekly or monthly payments.
We have employment agreements with our executive officers and certain of our senior leadership. These agreements are generally for three to five years and provide for participation in various incentive compensation arrangements. These
agreements generally renew automatically on an annual basis after their initial term has expired, with the exception of our Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, which does not renew after the current term expiring in February 2028.
At December 31, 2021, the maximum estimated future cash commitments under these agreements with remaining commitment terms, and with original terms of more than one year, are as follows (in thousands):
Non-CompeteConsulting
Employment(a)
Total
Years ending December 31,
2022$2,263 $719 $3,333 $6,315 
20231,761 322 1,211 3,294 
20241,186 148 900 2,234 
2025832 51 900 1,783 
2026458 — 900 1,358 
Thereafter308 — 1,012 1,320 
Total$6,808 $1,240 $8,256 $16,304 
(a)Melvin C. Payne, our Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, has an employment agreement that does not renew after the initial term.
Defined Contribution Plan
We sponsor a defined contribution plan, a 401K plan, for the benefit of our employees. Matching contributions and plan administrative expenses totaled $2.0 million, $2.3 million and $2.5 million during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively. We do not offer any post-retirement or post-employment benefits.
Litigation
We are a party to various litigation matters and proceedings. For each of our outstanding legal matters, we evaluate the merits of the case, our exposure to the matter, possible legal or settlement strategies, and the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome. If we determine that an unfavorable outcome is probable and can be reasonably estimated, we establish the necessary accruals. We hold certain insurance policies that may reduce cash outflows with respect to an adverse outcome of certain of these litigation matters.
Chinchilla v. Carriage Services, Inc., et al., Superior Court of California, San Joaquin County, Case No. STK-CV-UOE-2021-0004661. On May 19, 2021, a putative class action against the Company and several of our subsidiaries was filed. Plaintiff, a former employee, seeks monetary damages on behalf of himself and other similarly situated current and former non-exempt employees. Plaintiff claims that the Company failed to, among other things, pay minimum wages, provide meal and rest breaks, pay overtime, provide accurately itemized wage statements, reimburse employees for business expenses, and provide wages when due. See Note 24 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included herein for further discussion of the expected final settlement of this matter.