COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 25, 2015

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Workers’ compensation commitments

Our insurance carriers and certain state workers’ compensation programs require us to collateralize a portion of our workers’ compensation obligation, for which they become responsible should we become insolvent. The collateral typically takes the form of cash and cash equivalents, highly rated investment grade debt securities, letters of credit, and/or surety bonds. On a regular basis these entities assess the amount of collateral they will require from us relative to our workers' compensation obligation. The majority of our collateral obligations are held in the Trust.

We have provided our insurance carriers and certain states with commitments in the form and amounts listed below (in thousands):



	2015		2014
Cash collateral held by insurance carriers	$	23,133	$	22,639
Cash and cash equivalents held in Trust	26,046		43,856
Investments held in Trust	126,788		90,095
Letters of credit (1)	4,520		6,513
Surety bonds (2)	17,946		16,861
Total collateral commitments	$	198,433	$	179,964


(1)	We have agreements with certain financial institutions to issue letters of credit as collateral.

(2)

Our surety bonds are issued by independent insurance companies on our behalf and bear annual fees based on a percentage of the bond, which are determined by each independent surety carrier. These fees do not exceed 2.0% of the bond amount, subject to a minimum charge. The terms of these bonds are subject to review and renewal every one to four years and most bonds can be canceled by the sureties with as little as 60 days' notice.

Operating leases

We have contractual commitments in the form of operating leases related to office space and equipment. Future non-cancelable minimum lease payments under our operating lease commitments as of December 25, 2015 are as follows for each of the next five years and thereafter (in thousands):



2016	$	6,788
2017	5,126
2018	4,662
2019	3,952
2020	3,139
Thereafter	1,623
Total future non-cancelable minimum lease payments	$	25,290

Operating leases are generally renewed in the normal course of business, and most of the options are negotiated at the time of renewal. However, for the majority of our leases, we have the right to cancel the lease, typically within 90 days of notification. Accordingly, we have not included the leases with these cancellation provisions in our disclosure of future minimum lease payments. Total rent expense for 2015, 2014, and 2013 was $23.1 million, $23.0 million, and $22.5 million, respectively.

Purchase obligations

Purchase obligations include agreements to purchase goods and services in the ordinary course of business that are enforceable, legally binding and specify all significant terms. Purchase obligations do not include agreements that are cancelable without significant penalty. We had $12.1 million of purchase obligations as of December 25, 2015, of which $8.6 million are expected to be paid in 2016.

Legal contingencies and developments

We are involved in various proceedings arising in the normal course of conducting business. We believe the liabilities included in our financial statements reflect the probable loss that can be reasonably estimated. The resolution of those proceedings is not expected to have a material effect on our results of operations or financial condition.