Jury Rules Against Fired ND Work Comp Exec

A jury has found that a former North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance executive did not prove he was fired for acting as a whistle-blower.

The Bismarck Tribune reports that the decision means James Long will not get back pay or other damages for his termination from the North Dakota agency where he worked as chief of support services.

Long filed a lawsuit in September 2008 claiming that agency attorneys and board members plotted to fire him for talking to investigators about questionable activities at the state agency that provides benefits to employees who are injured on the job. The list of defendants eventually was reduced to just the state and WSI.

Long can appeal.