Topeka ? The state Treasurer’s Office and Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. have settled a federal lawsuit that the state agency filed about death benefits for thousands of railroad workers.

Treasurer Tim Shallenburger and the company announced the agreement Wednesday. It could affect the families or heirs of up to 7,600 Kansas railroad workers and tens of thousands more across the nation.

The agency filed its U.S. District Court lawsuit in February, seeking permission to audit the MetLife records, citing its authority to collect unclaimed property. Shallenburger worried that the families or heirs of many deceased railroad workers did not know they were eligible for a $2,000 payment under MetLife group life policies.

A MetLife spokeswoman said the company had no problems with paying the benefits but challenged the authority of Shallenburger’s office to audit its records. The company did not view the unpaid benefits as unclaimed property.

Neither Shallenburger nor the company had estimates for exactly how many families in Kansas or across the nation would receive the benefit.