Rick, in the scenario you described, I think there are two possibilities:
1. the colony is hopelessly queenless but there are no laying workers ( you will not see any eggs present on the comb)
2.the colony is hopelessly queenless and there are laying workers ( you will find eggs on the comb, but they are often multiple in each cell, not centered, attached to a wall or some similar, abnormal laying pattern; those eggs are not fertilized and will develop into drones)
In scenario #1, there is a good chance a new queen will be accepted ( I would still use queen introductory cage or something similar when introducing a new queen to them) Also, as Laurie suggested, I would make sure the newly-introduced queen has some frames of empty drawn comb where to lay eggs and some boost of nurse bees from another colony to take care of the new brood.
In scenario number 2, your new queen is NOT likely to be accepted. If the colony is small, you may just let them collect and process nectar, as Laurie suggested, and let them dwindle to extinction. ( You are risking the colony will be robbed out, however). Or just shake the bees out into the grass and distribute the frames into good colonies
-or, in case the laying workers colony is large, you can combine it with a strong, queen-right colony by placing them on top of it over the newspaper. The queen-right colony should be strong enough to "take care" and "overpower" the laying workers. The queen-right colony essentially restores order in the dysfunctional laying workers colony. This way you boost the queen-right colony and not lose the laying worker colony.
I have dealt with laying workers colonies before, in both ways described. Text me if you have more questions!