Commitments and Contingencies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

Employment Agreements

Kforce has employment agreements with certain executives that provide for minimum compensation, salary and continuation of certain benefits for a six-month to a three-year period after their employment ends under certain circumstances. Certain of the agreements also provide for a severance payment ranging from one to three times annual salary and one-half to three times average annual bonus if such an agreement is terminated without good cause by Kforce or for good reason by the executive subject to certain post-employment restrictive covenants. At September 30, 2020, our liability would be approximately $39.5 million if, following a change in control, all of the executives under contract were terminated without good cause by the employer or if the executives resigned for good reason and $16.8 million if, in the absence of a change in control, all of the executives under contract were terminated by Kforce without good cause or if the executives resigned for good reason.

Litigation and Loss Contingencies

Unless otherwise noted below, there have been no material developments with regard to the legal proceedings previously disclosed in our 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2020.

On September 3, 2020, a complaint was filed against Kforce Inc., et al. in the Superior Court of the State of California, San Diego County. Bernardo Buchsbaum, et al. v. Kforce Inc., et al., Case No.: 37-2020-00030994-CU-OE-CTL. The former employee purports to bring a representative action on his own behalf and on behalf of other current and former California aggrieved employees pursuant to the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) alleging violations of the California Labor Code (“Labor Code”). The purported Labor Code violations include the failure to: (i) pay all earned wages, including minimum wages and overtime wages; (ii) provide and pay proper wages for meal and rest periods; (iii) reimburse all reasonable and necessary business expenses; (iv) provide accurate itemized wage statements; and (v) provide unused vacation wages upon termination. The plaintiff seeks civil penalties, interest, attorney’s fees and costs under the Labor Code. At this stage in the litigation it is not feasible to predict the outcome of this matter or reasonably estimate a range of loss, should a loss occur, from this proceeding.

On October 13, 2020, Kforce Inc. was served with a complaint brought in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Hope Gofton and Adam Kimbrel, et al. v. Kforce Inc., Case No.: 2:20-cv-04886 on behalf of themselves and other similarly situated current and former employees. The plaintiffs purport to bring a collective action for alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 201, et seq., and a class action for alleged violations of the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act, 43 P.S. §§ 333.101, et seq., based upon the defendant’s purported failure to pay federal and state overtime wages. The plaintiffs allege that the defendant improperly classified as exempt the plaintiffs and other putative collective and class members, and allegedly failed to pay overtime wages. The plaintiffs seek payment of unpaid overtime wages, liquidated damages, interest, attorney’s fees, costs and other relief deemed equitable by the Court. At this stage in the litigation, it is not feasible to predict the outcome of this matter or reasonably estimate a range of loss, should a loss occur, from this proceeding.

We are involved in legal proceedings, claims and administrative matters, and may also be exposed to loss contingencies, that arise in the ordinary course of business. We have made accruals with respect to certain of these matters, where appropriate, which are reflected in our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements. While the ultimate outcome of these matters cannot be determined and any amounts accrued are inherently uncertain estimates, we currently do not expect that these matters, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material effect on our financial position.

Equity Method Investment

Under the joint venture operating agreement for WorkLLama, Kforce is obligated to make additional cash contributions, which are contingent on WorkLLama's achievement of certain operational and financial milestones. Our maximum potential capital contributions were $22.5 million. We contributed $9.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2019 and $2.5 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2020. Refer to Note F - “Other Assets, Net” for more details on WorkLLama.