Three-and-a-half years after Sanford “Sandy” Wadler was fired from his post as general counsel at Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., he got his revenge.

On Monday, a nine-person jury awarded Wadler $2.9 million in back pay and $5 million in punitive damages, finding that Wadler was protected and that he was wrongfully terminated for his attempts to uncover possible corruption in the company’s foreign offices.