Updated 4:53 p.m.

The U.S. Labor Department on Friday ordered Wells Fargo & Co. to reinstate a former branch manager fired for blowing the whistle on three subordinates who were opening new accounts for customers without their knowledge—the conduct at issue in the bank's $185 million settlement last year with federal regulators and the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office.

Wells Fargo must pay the whistleblower, who was terminated in 2011, more than $577,500 in back pay, damages and legal fees, and the bank was told to post a notice alerting employees of their federal whistleblower protections, the Labor Department said.