INDIANAPOLIS | Indiana agreed Monday to pay up to $8.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of thousands of state employees who worked longer work weeks than similarly paid peers.

The preliminary settlement, which calls for the state to pay another $4 million in plaintiff legal fees, was reached a day before the case was scheduled for trial in Marion County. The dispute, dating to 1993, covers an estimated 15,000 workers who toiled 40 hours a week while state employees in comparable positions received the same pay for 37.5-hour weeks.

For Herbert Newkirk, a retired corrections officer from LaPorte, the settlement could mean more than $32,000 in back pay.

"The wife and I own draft horses," Newkirk said Monday. "Probably what I'll do is keep doing that. We do that now with 4-H kids. We show them in Crown Point, LaPorte and Michigan City."

Newkirk went to work for the state in 1978 as a guard at Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. He did the same job as guards less than 15 miles away at the Westville Correctional Center but had to put in another 2.5 hours a week for the same paycheck.

John Kautzman, one of the Indianapolis attorneys who represented the workers, said settlement negotiations began last week, continued through the weekend and a judge approved the agreement on Monday.

"It is essentially calling for each claimant that has been affected by this situation to be paid 100 cents on the dollar for the full amount of their back pay claim," Kautzman said.

But the deal allows the state to walk away from the settlement and proceed to trial if the total claims exceed $8.5 million.

"It's simply based on the fact that no on knows on a case this old how many claimants are going to come forward," Kautzman said.

The work-week discrepancy covers employees who were on the state payroll between 1973 and 1993. The dispute was caused by conflicting state law and personnel directives.

The General Assembly passed a 1953 law establishing a 37.5-hour week for state office workers. Fourteen years later, a state personnel board set a 40-hour week for employees of state hospitals and other institutions. In 1993, the state personnel director established a standard 37.5-hour week for all state workers.

A spokeswoman for Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter confirmed the details of the settlement but declined further comment Monday. An Oct. 20 court hearing has been scheduled to consider final approval of the settlement.