Employee Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Employee Benefit Plans

Employee Benefit Plans

11. Employee Benefit Plans

        We and certain of our subsidiaries sponsor various retirement plans for most full-time and some part-time employees. These plans primarily consist of defined contribution plans. The defined contribution plans generally provide for contributions up to 2.5% of covered employees' salaries or wages. These contributions totaled $5.1 million in 2011, $4.3 million in 2010 and $4.5 million in 2009. Of these amounts, approximately $0.5 million and $0.1 million were payable to the plans at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

        Certain of our subsidiaries also participate or have participated in various multi-employer pension plans for the benefit of employees who are union members. As of December 31, 2011 and 2010, we had 7 and 6 employees, respectively, who were union members. We are subject to unfunded pension plan liability related to the withdrawal of one of our operating locations from a multi-employer pension plan. We have accrued $0.2 million in anticipation of these liabilities as of December 31, 2011. There were no contributions made to multi-employer pension plans in 2011, 2010 or 2009. The data available from administrators of other multi-employer pension plans is not sufficient to determine the accumulated benefit obligations, nor the net assets attributable to the multi-employer plans in which our employees participate or previously participated.