iNDIANAPOLIS (AP) - State officials have agreed to pay up to $8.5 million to settle a long-running dispute over thousands of state workers who for years were paid the same amount as cohorts who worked fewer hours.

The tentative agreement could cover an estimated 15,000 state
employees who worked 40-hour weeks between 1973 and 1993 yet
received the same pay as those who worked just 37.5 hours a week.

The class-action lawsuit filed 15 years ago had been scheduled to go to trial Tuesday, but a tentative agreement was issued Monday by Marion Superior Court. It caps the amount the state will pay to settle the claims at $8.5 million. In exchange, the plaintiffs agreed to drop all further claims.

The proposed settlement could be approved at an Oct. 20 court hearing.

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