A group of current and former PG&E workers who waged a nine-year legal battle against PG&E for overtime pay will receive $17.25 million in a settlement approved by a judge this week.

The final settlement, approved by San Francisco Superior Court Judge John K. Stewart on Thursday, not only will compensate the roughly 700 workers for their back pay and attorneys' fees, but also requires that PG&E pay most of the workers in the suit overtime pay in the future.

"I think it's tremendous that, for the majority of the class, they will have more time in their lives to pursue their lives," said Jonathan H. Siegel, lead attorney for the plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit. "That's the real meaning of overtime cases to me — that forcing employers to pay overtime makes them reduce their demands on employees so they can have more time for their families."

Jennifer Zerwer, a PG&E spokeswoman, said, "PG&E truly appreciates the 20,000 men and women who work every day to provide safe and reliable energy to our customers. They are our most important asset. We believe these employees were properly classified, according to California law. We are pleased we were able to come to a compromise that is fair for both our employees and our customers."

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