COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – A judge has approved a lawsuit settlement that will see the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation paying out $420 million to state employers that were overcharged for insurance premiums. Cuyahoga County Judge Richard McMonagle tells The Associated Press the settlement he approved Thursday ‘is good for the workers.’ The settlement ends a class-action lawsuit that dragged on for years. It creates a fund to repay businesses that were overcharged for workers compensation premiums from July 2001 to June 2009. More than 200,000 small business owners in the state were affected. An earlier court ruling said Ohio’s state insurance fund for injured workers set up an illegal rating system that resulted in employers being overcharged nearly $860 million. Both sides said they were satisfied with the settlement.
