MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Senate agreed Thursday to pay $30,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a former staffer who was fired over an affair with the chamber’s majority leader.

It’s the same amount that Senate leaders say Michael Brodkorb was offered as severance before he filed his lawsuit. Brodkorb had been seeking more than $500,000 over his December 2011 firing.

Brodkorb was dismissed after Senate leaders discovered he was having an affair with then-Majority Leader Amy Koch. Brodkorb sued for wrongful termination, arguing that he was treated differently than female staffers who had carried on affairs at the Capitol.

Senate leaders had argued they acted properly and had refused to settle. But legal costs had piled up to nearly $320,000 as of earlier this month.

“It’s a tremendous load off my shoulders, and I feel like I have my life back,” Brodkorb said.