Sherwin-Williams pays $80 million to settle U.S. labor department probe Wed Feb 20, 2013 9:50pm EST (Reuters) - Sherwin-Williams Co (SHW.N) has reached a settlement deal with the U.S. Department of Labor related to the U.S. paint maker's employee stock ownership plan by making a one-time payment of $80 million to the plan, the firm said on Wednesday. The company - which markets paints including Dutch Boy, Krylon, Minwax and Water Seal as well as its namesake brand - said the payment will result in an after-tax charge to earnings of $49.2 million, or 47 cents per share, in its fourth quarter, ended December 31, 2012. "The settlement will result in payments totaling $80 million to current and former participants in the plan as well as to their beneficiaries," the Department of Labor said in a statement issued to Reuters. The settlement also requires Illinois-based trustee GreatBanc Trust Company to undergo an audit of its pension plan activities, the Labor Department said. In January, the company posted a fourth-quarter profit of $1.12 per share on revenue of $2.22 billion. Sherwin-Williams said the agreement will not have an effect on its full-year 2013 earnings forecast issued on January 31, 2013. Reporting by Balaji Sridharan and Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Gary Hill and Daniel Magnowski