Four public employees in Ohio won a settlement in their federal class-action lawsuit against a union and the state, ending a policy that allowed public workers to stop paying union dues only during a limited window.

The workers filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, challenging a so-called “escape period,” which limited the timeframe when workers could withdraw from paying union dues. They named Council 11 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Gov. Mike DeWine and Matthew M. Damschroder, director of the Ohio Department of Administrative Services, as defendants in their complaint.