COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

NOTE 14 - COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Operating Leases

The Company leases certain premises under various operating leases.

Future minimum lease payments under such operating leases are as follows:


Year ending
December 31,

2017		1,929
2018		740
2019		582
2020		334
2021		13
	$	3,598

Rent expense for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 is $3,900, $3,409, and $3,257, respectively.

Letters of Credit and Guarantees

As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, the Company has approximately $233 in outstanding letters of credit. Such letters of credit are being secured by the same amounts in restricted cash with a commercial bank (see Note 2).

As of December 31, 2016 and 2015 the Company has €2,289 and €266 ($2,415 and $290 as of December 31, 2016 and 2015 respectively) in outstanding guarantees on its lines of credit arrangement in Europe (see Note 7).

Legal Proceedings

September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks

As a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, numerous lawsuits charging the Company with wrongful death and/or property damage were commenced in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York (the “Court”), resulting from certain airport security services provided by the Company for United Flight 175 out of Logan Airport in Boston, Massachusetts.

All the wrongful death personal injury cases have been settled or dismissed at no cost to the Company because the payments were covered by the Company’s insurance. The Court approved the settlements.

All but one of the property loss cases also has been settled at no cost to the Company, because the payments were covered by the Company’s insurance. One of the property loss cases remain pending against, among others, the Company. The Court granted defendants motion for summary judgments that the plaintiffs have appealed and oral arguments have been held. The plaintiffs in the case are seeking reimbursement for claimed damages relating to their lease of the towers. The defendants are hopeful that the remaining property loss cases will be dismissed.

In any event, the Company has already paid the limits of its liability insurance in settlement costs. The Company contends that a federal statute passed after the events of September 11, 2001 protects it from having to make any further monetary payments, regardless of whether it is found liable in any of the remaining cases.

Claims by former employees

The Company is subject to wrongful termination claims made by certain former employees of one of its European subsidiaries. The aggregate amount of such claims is approximately $711. At the present time, the Company is not able to determine the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome or estimate a range of potential loss related to these matters.

Minimum wage increase

In August 2015, the Company was informed about a court decision, which approved an increase to the minimum wage for the city of SeaTac, Washington (location of Seattle Airport). The increase to the minimum wage was originally approved by a vote in King County, Washington in 2013 (to be effective January 1, 2014). However, a court ruled that SeaTac employees were excluded from this increase because the airport was under the jurisdiction of the Port of Seattle and not the city of SeaTac. In August 2015, this decision was overturned by the State Supreme Court and accordingly, the Company is required to increase the minimum wage of its employees at the SeaTac Airport according to the court decision, effective January 1, 2014. The Company has estimated that it has a liability of approximately $3,600 for back wages (inclusive of interest amounting to approximately $600) as of December 31, 2016 and has recorded an accrual for this liability.

A class action lawsuit was filed against the Company in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, Seattle, by an employee of the Company. The employee alleges the Company failed to pay the proper minimum wage in violation of the City of Sea Tax Municipal Code. The case is currently in the discovery phase.

Additional two lawsuits were filed against the Company in the District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Huston Division and in the Superior Court of Washington, King County, on the same subject. These cases are currently in the discovery phase.

General

The Company is subject to various investigations, claims and legal proceedings covering a wide range of matters that arise in the ordinary course of its business activities. These claims are primarily related to grievances filed by current and former employees for unfair labor practices or discrimination, and for passenger aviation claims. Management recognizes a liability for any matter when the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome is deemed to be probable and the amount is able to be reasonably estimated. Management has concluded that such claims, in the aggregate, would not have a material adverse effect on the Company's consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

Consulting and Service Agreements

In April 2013, prior to the purchase of one of the current subsidiaries in Europe, the Company entered into an agency agreement with a third party to assist it with this transaction. According to the agreement, in the event that the operations of the subsidiary are sold in the future, the third party agent is entitled to a payment of €2,000 ($2,111 as of December 31, 2016)

In June 2015, the Agency agreement was amended. As part of the changes, in the event that the Company’s operations in that country are sold, the third party agent is entitled to a payment of €3,000 ($3,167 as of December 31, 2016) instead of €2,000 ($2,111 as of December 31, 2016).