After a two-year battle concerning whistleblower protection, the Department of Labor has ordered Cardinal Bankshares Inc. of Floyd, Va., to reinstate its former chief financial officer, David Welch.
In a ruling Feb. 14, the $179 million-asset parent of Bank of Floyd was also ordered to pay Mr. Welch almost $65,000 of back income and to pay his attorney $108,000 of legal fees.
The ruling, which affirmed a decision made in January 2004, also provided more details concerning damages. The January 2004 decision had said that Cardinal violated the newly created whistleblower protection law when it fired Mr. Welch in September 2002 after he accused the chief executive officer of misleading shareholders and conducting insider trading.
Cardinal’s case was the first tried under the new law, which is part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Laura Effel, an attorney for Cardinal, said that it would appeal the decision, and that it is unclear if and when Mr. Welch would be reinstated if the department decided to hear the appeal.
