WORKERS' COMPENSATION INSURANCE AND RESERVES

3 Months Ended

Mar. 29, 2020

Workers' Compensation Insurance and Reserves [Abstract]

WORKERS' COMPENSATION INSURANCE AND RESERVES

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION INSURANCE AND RESERVES

We provide workers’ compensation insurance for our contingent and permanent employees. The majority of our current workers’ compensation insurance policies cover claims for a particular event above a $2.0 million deductible limit, on a “per occurrence” basis. This results in our being substantially self-insured.

Our workers’ compensation reserve for claims below the deductible limit is discounted to its estimated net present value using discount rates based on average returns of “risk-free” U.S. Treasury instruments available during the year in which the liability was incurred. The weighted average discount rate was 2.0% at March 29, 2020 and December 29, 2019. Payments made against self-insured claims are made over a weighted average period of approximately 5 years as of March 29, 2020.

The following table presents a reconciliation of the undiscounted workers’ compensation reserve to the discounted workers’ compensation reserve for the periods presented:



(in thousands)	March 29, 2020		December 29, 2019
Undiscounted workers’ compensation reserve	$	272,179	$	274,934
Less discount on workers’ compensation reserve	18,724		19,316
Workers’ compensation reserve, net of discount	253,455		255,618
Less current portion	69,353		73,020
Long-term portion	$	184,102	$	182,598

Payments made against self-insured claims were $14.6 million and $15.3 million for the thirteen weeks ended March 29, 2020 and March 31, 2019, respectively.

Our workers’ compensation reserve includes estimated expenses related to claims above our self-insured limits (“excess claims”), and we record a corresponding receivable for the insurance coverage on excess claims based on the contractual policy agreements we have with insurance carriers. We discount this reserve and corresponding receivable to its estimated net present value using the discount rates based on average returns of “risk-free” U.S. Treasury instruments available during the year in which the liability was incurred. At March 29, 2020 and December 29, 2019, the weighted average rate was 2.2% and 2.4%, respectively. The claim payments are made and the corresponding reimbursements from our insurance carriers are received over an estimated weighted average period of approximately 17 years. The discounted workers’ compensation reserve for excess claims was $45.6 million and $45.3 million, and the corresponding gross receivable for the insurance on excess claims was $44.6 million and $45.3 million as of March 29, 2020 and December 29, 2019, respectively.

Workers’ compensation cost consists primarily of changes in self-insurance reserves net of changes in discount, monopolistic jurisdictions’ premiums, insurance premiums and other miscellaneous expenses. Workers’ compensation cost of $14.3 million and $11.9 million was recorded in cost of services on our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the thirteen weeks ended March 29, 2020 and March 31, 2019, respectively.