Without admitting or denying the Securities and Exchange Commission’s findings, oil-and-gas company SandRidge Energy has agreed to pay a penalty of $1.4 million to settle charges that it used illegal separation agreements and retaliated against a whistleblower who expressed concerns internally about how its reserves were being calculated.

Jaclyn Jaeger is a freelance contributor to Compliance Week after working for the company for 15 years. She writes on a wide variety of topics, including ethics and compliance, risk management, legal,...