FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT

9 Months Ended

Sep. 25, 2015

Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. We apply a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value:


•	Level 1 inputs are valued using quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. Our Level 1 assets primarily include cash and cash equivalents and mutual funds.

•

Level 2 inputs are valued based upon quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets or quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active. Our Level 2 assets are marketable securities, which may consist of certificates of deposit ("CDs") and commercial paper, and restricted investments, which consist of municipal debt securities, corporate debt securities, asset-backed securities, and U.S. agency debentures. Our investments consist of highly rated investment grade debt securities, which are rated A1/P1 or higher for short-term securities and A- or higher for long-term securities, by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations. We obtain our inputs from quoted market prices and independent pricing vendors.


•	Level 3 inputs are generally unobservable and typically reflect management's estimates of assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. We have no Level 3 assets or liabilities.

The carrying values of our accounts receivable, accounts payable and other accrued expenses, and accrued wages and benefits approximate fair value due to their short-term nature. We also hold certain restricted investments which collateralize workers' compensation programs and are classified as held-to-maturity and carried at amortized cost on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. We hold long-term debt with variable interest rates that approximate fair value. For additional information, see Note 8: Long-term Debt.

The following tables present the fair value and hierarchy for our financial assets (in thousands):



	September 25, 2015
	Carrying Value		Total Fair Value		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Cash and cash equivalents (1)	$	23,232	$	23,232	$	23,232	$	—	$	—
Restricted cash and cash equivalents (1)	53,944		53,944		53,944		—		—
Other restricted assets (2)	11,647		11,647		11,647		—		—
Restricted investments classified as held-to-maturity	116,319		117,519		—		117,519		—



	December 26, 2014
	Carrying Value		Total Fair Value		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Cash and cash equivalents (1)	$	19,666	$	19,666	$	19,666	$	—	$	—
Marketable securities classified as available-for-sale (3)	1,500		1,500		—		1,500
Restricted cash and cash equivalents (1)	68,359		68,359		68,359		—		—
Other restricted assets (2)	9,972		9,972		9,972		—		—
Restricted investments classified as held-to-maturity	90,095		91,066		—		91,066		—


(1)	Cash equivalents and restricted cash equivalents consist of money market funds, deposits, and investments with original maturities of three months or less.


(2)	Other restricted assets primarily consist of deferred compensation plan accounts, which are comprised of mutual funds classified as available-for-sale securities.


(3)	At September 25, 2015, we held no marketable securities. At December 26, 2014, all of our marketable securities, which consisted of CDs, had stated maturities of less than one year.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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