Commitments and contingencies |
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| Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commitments and contingencies | Commitments and contingencies Performance bonds
Certain contracts require us to provide a surety bond as a guarantee of performance. At September 30, 2019, we had performance bond commitments totaling $36.8 million. These bonds are typically renewed annually and remain in place until the contractual obligations have been satisfied. Although the triggering events vary from contract to contract, in general we would only be liable for the amount of these guarantees in the event of default in our performance of our obligations under each contract, the probability of which we believe is remote.
Operating leases
We lease office space and equipment under various operating leases. Lease expense is calculated by identifying the total costs anticipated over the term of the lease which we are reasonably assured to use and recognizing this in equal installments over the term. Differences between lease expense and cash payments are recorded as assets or liabilities. As part of a property lease agreement, we may receive incentives from the landlord in the form of an allowance to allow us to customize the location. This payment forms part of a lease liability which is amortized over the term of the lease. The fixed assets acquired are amortized over the same lease term. Lease expense for the years ended September 30, 2019, 2018 and 2017 was $101.7 million, $77.0 million and $80.6 million, respectively.
Minimum future lease commitments under leases in effect as of September 30, 2019, are as follows (in thousands):
Sublease income for the year ended September 30, 2019, was $0.9 million, and we anticipate future sublease income of approximately $0.5 million in fiscal year 2020.
Collective bargaining agreements
Approximately 8% of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements or similar arrangements, the majority of which expire within one year.
Litigation
In August 2017, the Company and certain officers were named as defendants in a putative class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The plaintiff alleged the defendants made a variety of materially false and misleading statements, or failed to disclose material information, concerning the status of the Company’s Health Assessment Advisory Service project for the U.K. Department for Work and Pensions from the period of October 20, 2014, through February 3, 2016. In August 2018, our motion to dismiss the case was granted, and the case was dismissed. In October 2018, the plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Circuit Court for the Fourth Circuit. In June 2019, the appeals court affirmed the decision of the District Court, and the matter has concluded.
A state Medicaid agency has been notified of two proposed disallowances by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) totaling approximately $31.0 million. From 2004 through 2009, we had a contract with the state agency in support of its school-based Medicaid claims. We entered into separate agreements with the school districts under which we assisted the districts with preparing and submitting claims to the state Medicaid agency which, in turn, submitted claims for reimbursement to CMS. The state has asserted that its agreement with us requires us to reimburse the state for the amounts owed to CMS. However, our agreements with the school districts require them to reimburse us for such amounts, and therefore we believe the school districts are responsible for any amounts that ultimately must be refunded to CMS. Although it is reasonably possible that a court could conclude we are responsible for the full balance of the disallowances, we believe our exposure in this matter is limited to our fees associated with this work and that the school districts will be responsible for the remainder. We have reserved our estimated fees earned from this engagement relating to the disallowances. We exited the federal healthcare-claiming business in 2009 and no longer provide the services at issue in this matter. No legal action has been initiated against us.
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