Judge Agrees Employers Overcharged by Ohio Workers’ Compensation Bureau

A judge’s ruling against the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation may end up costing the state hundreds of millions of dollars.

The ruling issued last Friday also could mean that more than 270,000 Ohio employers are due restitution after the judge said they were overcharged by the state.

A group of businesses sued Ohio in 2007 for $1.3 billion, saying that they paid too much for their workers’ compensation premiums.

Cuyahoga County Judge Richard McMonagle agreed but has asked the group to lower their request for damages.

An attorney for the group told The Plain Dealer newspaper in Cleveland that the final amount will be less than a billion dollars but still a lot of money.

A spokesman for workers’ compensation bureau said the organization plans to appeal the decision.