ExxonMobil Corp. XOM was ordered last week by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to immediately reinstate two employees and pay them more than $800,000 in back wages, interest and damages.

What happened: Exxon illegally fired them on suspicion that the employees had leaked material to the Wall Street Journal, according to a state whistleblower probe, Insider reported in this week.

The newspaper reported the oil and gas company may have overstated production forecasts and reported value of September 2020 oil and gas wells in the Texas Permian Basin.

According to the article in question, Exxon may have been wrong in its prediction that drilling rate would improve significantly over the next five years.

Exxon fired two computer scientists in late 2020 who raised concerns about the company’s use of the assumptions, according to the OSHA investigation.

Exxon said it fired one of the scientists for improper handling of confidential company data and the second because he displayed a “negative attitude,” sought alternative employment, and lost management’s trust.

OSHA later learned that Exxon knew that one of the scientists was a relative of a source cited in the Wall Street Journal article and had access to the leaked information.

Why it matters: Communications with The Journal related to alleged corporate violations under OSHA were found to be protected activities under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Both scholars were not identified as sources of the article.

“ExxonMobil’s actions are unacceptable. The integrity of the US financial system depends on companies accurately reporting their financial condition and assets,” said the assistant secretary for occupational safety and health DougParker.

“Whistleblower protection is an essential part of ensuring that financial disclosure laws work. As in this case, OSHA will aggressively protect the rights of employees who have concerns about financial…