Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal Thursday set in motion a federal lawsuit against Jay Walker’s Walker Digital Corp., mere days after priceline.com, a company born of the Connecticut-based think tank, was victorious in its own legal battle against software juggernaut Microsoft Corp.
The suit, filed in a U.S. District Court in Connecticut, seeks $1 million in back pay for 106 Walker Digital workers who were laid off without adequate notice, according to Blumenthal. The company laid off about 80 percent of its workforce at its Stamford, Conn. headquarters on Nov. 21 after failing to complete a planned financing. At the same time it announced it would close offices in Atlanta, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Thursday’s lawsuit is not the first time Blumenthal — who has made a name for himself as a consumer activist — has tangled with Jay Walker’s companies. He launched a probe of priceline.com in September of last year after receiving more than 100 complaints from customers. Walker has since stepped down as vice chairman of priceline.com to focus on rebuilding Walker digital.
Walker Digital said Thursday that it complied with laws related to the layoffs.