CLEVELAND (AP) — A judge in northeast Ohio is weighing arguments over a request by Ohio employers for $860 million in restitution they say they're owed by the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation for overcharges.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Richard McMonagle held a hearing on the matter Thursday.

Attorneys for employers want the sum to compensate as many as 270,000 Ohio employers affected by McMonagle's December ruling. It found the bureau overcharged the business owners from July 2001 to June 2009. A coalition representing the employers rallied at the courthouse Thursday.

The state presented arguments for paying a lower amount. A bureau spokeswoman said the money would come from assets of the state's $7 billion insurance fund for injured workers.

The Bureau is appealing the decision.