LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AND CONTINGENCIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 30, 2022

Legal Proceedings And Contingencies [Abstract]

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AND CONTINGENCIES

NOTE 25: LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AND CONTINGENCIES

General

From time to time, as a normal incident of the nature and kind of businesses in which we are or were engaged, various claims or charges are asserted and litigation or arbitration is commenced by or against us arising from or related to matters, including but not limited to: product liability; personal injury; patents, trademarks, trade secrets or other intellectual property; labor and employee disputes; commercial or contractual disputes; strategic acquisitions or divestitures; the prior sale or use of former products allegedly containing asbestos or other restricted materials; breach of warranty; or environmental matters. Claimed amounts against us may be substantial, but may not bear any reasonable relationship to the merits of the claim or the extent of any real risk of court or arbitral awards. We record accruals for losses related to those matters against us that we consider to be probable and that can be reasonably estimated. Gain contingencies, if any, are recognized when they are realized and legal costs generally are expensed when incurred. At December 30, 2022, our accrual for the potential resolution of lawsuits, claims or proceedings that we consider probable of being decided unfavorably to us was not material. Although it is not feasible to predict the outcome of these matters with certainty, it is reasonably possible that some lawsuits, claims or proceedings may be disposed of or decided unfavorably to us and in excess of the amounts currently accrued. Based on available information, in the opinion of management, settlements, arbitration awards and final judgments, if any, that are considered probable of being rendered against us in litigation or arbitration in existence at December 30, 2022 are reserved against or would not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or equity.

Tax Audits

Our tax filings are subject to audit by taxing authorities in jurisdictions where we conduct or conducted business. These audits may result in assessments of additional taxes that are subsequently resolved with the authorities or ultimately through legal proceedings. We believe we have adequately accrued for any ultimate amounts that are likely to result from these audits; however, final assessments, if any, could be different from the amounts recorded in our Consolidated Financial Statements. Additional information regarding audits and examinations by taxing authorities of our tax filings is set forth in Note 22: Income Taxes in these Notes.

U.S. Government Business

We are engaged in supplying goods and services to various departments and agencies of the U.S. Government. We are therefore dependent on Congressional appropriations and administrative allotment of funds and may be affected by changes in U.S. Government policies. U.S. Government development and production contracts typically involve long lead times for design and development, are subject to significant changes in contract scheduling and may be unilaterally modified or canceled by the U.S. Government. Often these contracts call for successful design and production of complex and technologically advanced products or systems. We may participate in supplying goods and services to the U.S. Government as either a prime contractor or as a subcontractor to a prime contractor. Disputes may arise between the prime contractor and the U.S. Government or between the prime contractor and its subcontractors and may result in litigation or arbitration between the contracting parties. The Company remains subject to the administrative agreement with the Department of State.

Generally, U.S. Government contracts are subject to procurement laws and regulations, including the FAR, which outline uniform policies and procedures for acquiring goods and services by the U.S. Government, and specific agency acquisition regulations that implement or supplement the FAR, such as the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement. As a U.S. Government contractor, our contract costs are audited and reviewed on a continuing basis by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (“DCAA”). The DCAA also reviews the adequacy of, and a U.S. Government contractor’s compliance with, the contractor’s business systems and policies, including the contractor’s property, estimating, compensation and management information systems. In addition to these routine audits, from time to time, we may, either individually or in conjunction with other U.S. Government contractors, be the subject of audits and investigations by other agencies of the U.S. Government. These audits and investigations are conducted to determine if our performance and administration of our U.S. Government contracts are compliant with applicable contractual requirements and procurement and other applicable Federal laws and regulations, including ITAR and FCPA. These investigations may be conducted with or without our knowledge or cooperation. We are unable to predict the outcome of such investigations or to estimate the amounts of resulting claims or other actions that could be instituted against us or our officers or employees. Under present U.S. Government procurement laws and regulations, if indicted or adjudged in violation of procurement or other Federal laws, a contractor, such as us, or one or more of our operating divisions or subdivisions, could be subject to fines, penalties, repayments, or compensatory or treble damages. U.S. Government regulations also provide that certain findings against a contractor may lead to suspension or debarment from eligibility for awards of new U.S. Government

contracts for a period of time to be determined by the U.S. Government. Suspension or debarment would have a material adverse effect on us because of our reliance on U.S. Government contracts. In addition, our export privileges could be suspended or revoked, which also would have a material adverse effect on us. For further discussion of risks relating to U.S. Government contracts, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this Report.

International

 As an international company, we are, from time to time, the subject of investigations relating to our international operations, including under U.S. export control laws (such as ITAR), the FCPA and other similar U.S. and international laws.

In September 2019, we reached an administrative settlement with the Department of State to resolve alleged U.S. export control regulation violations. Under the terms of the settlement, we have committed to strengthen our trade compliance program under the supervision of a special compliance officer and will pay a civil penalty of $13 million over three years (with $6.5 million suspended on the condition of use for qualified remedial compliance measures). The settlement did not result in any debarment or limitation on export licensing. The settlement was paid in full during fiscal 2021.

Environmental Matters

We are subject to numerous U.S. Federal, state, local and international environmental laws and regulatory requirements and are involved from time to time in investigations or litigation of various potential environmental issues. We or companies we have acquired are responsible, or alleged to be responsible, for environmental investigation and/or remediation of multiple sites. These sites are in various stages of investigation and/or remediation and in some cases our liability is considered de minimis. Notices from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) or equivalent state or international environmental agencies allege that several sites formerly or currently owned and/or operated by us or companies we have acquired, and other properties or water supplies that may be or have been impacted from those operations, contain disposed or recycled materials or wastes and require environmental investigation and/or remediation. These sites include instances of being identified as a potentially responsible party under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (commonly known as the “Superfund Act”) and/or equivalent state and international laws. For example, in June 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division, notified several potentially responsible parties, including L3Harris, of potential responsibility for contribution to the environmental investigation and remediation of multiple locations in Alaska. In addition, in March 2016, the EPA notified over 100 potentially responsible parties, including L3Harris, of potential liability for the cost of remediation for the 8.3-mile stretch of the Lower Passaic River in New Jersey, estimated by the EPA to be $1.38 billion. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, the EPA further announced an interim plan to remediate sediment in the upper nine miles of the of the Lower Passaic River with an estimated cost of $441 million. Although it is not feasible to predict the outcome of these environmental claims made against us, based on available information, in the opinion of our management, any payments we may be required to make as a result of environmental claims made against us in existence at December 30, 2022 are reserved against, covered by insurance or would not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or equity.