Attorneys general from nearly two dozen states, including New York, filed papers in federal court Thursday urging that a request from Purdue Pharma to pay out $38 million in bonuses to company employees as part of its bankruptcy proceedings be rejected.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said the company, which is the subject of thousands of lawsuits over the country's opioid crisis, should be barred from making those payments.

"As Purdue Pharma argues in court that they cannot afford to pay creditors what they owe, the company wants to hand out $38 million in bonuses to their top executives," James said. "The company needs to be held to account, not be allowed to recklessly spend what they claim are limited funds."

The attorneys general, from 23 states and the District of Columbia, filed a joinder to an objection from U.S. Trustee William Harrington to Purdue Pharma's request, which the opioid manufacturer made in federal bankruptcy court last month.

In the filing, which was one of many that requested permission to use the company's assets for different purposes, attorneys for Purdue Pharma asked permission to pay out $38 million from their coffers for its severance program, incentive plans and sign-on bonuses.

The move was widely criticized from attorneys general around the country, who argued that Purdue should not be allowed to fund bonuses for its employees when it was the target of thousands of lawsuits from states, localities, unions and others over the country's epidemic of opioid overdoses.

Purdue, which is the maker of Oxycontin, has been accused of furthering the opioid crisis by heavily marketing its products without warning about their addictive nature, despite knowing the effects of those drugs.

The company, earlier this year, was reported to be on the verge of a global settlement in the range of $10 to $12 billion in the litigation. James appeared, at the time, to throw cold water on the idea.

"A deal that doesn't account for the depth of pain and destruction caused by Purdue and the Sacklers is an insult, plain and simple," James said.

Purdue is represented in the bankruptcy proceeding by attorneys from Davis Polk & Wardwell, according to filings. Neither the company nor its lawyers immediately responded to a request for comment on the states' filing.

In a statement on their request to pay out the bonuses, Purdue said it was intended to keep employees at the company, rather than have them leave and further devalue the business.

"These programs are essential to retaining employees who are critical to preserving the value of the company for the ultimate benefit of the American public," the company said. "Denying people who are doing important work under extremely challenging conditions their fair compensation would cause them to leave and destroy the value of the company, which will benefit no one."

Aside from New York, attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia were on the joinder filed Thursday.

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