Labor board reverses ruling in whistle-blower case (Sarbanes-Oxley Act)

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Roanoke Times

Labor board reverses ruling in whistle-blower case
The case involving David Welch and the Bank of Floyd has gone on for nearly five years.

By Mike Gangloff
981-3336

Were David Welch's reports of accounting irregularities at the Bank of Floyd the acts of a courageous whistle-blower or the gripes of a malcontent?

In the almost five-year saga that began with Welch's complaints and subsequent firing from his position as the chief financial officer at the bank's parent organization, it depends whom you ask.

Welch's case drew national attention because it was among the first to seek the protections of the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act, legislation approved in the wake of the Enron and WorldCom scandals to protect people who reveal corporate wrongdoing.

After filing for protection in October 2002, Welch's claims were rejected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. But in 2005, he became the first whistle-blower whose case was upheld under Sarbanes-Oxley when a Department of Labor administrative review judge ordered Cardinal Bankshares, which runs the Bank of Floyd, to rehire him.

Read more: http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/119997