Can my employer pay severance to my coworker but not to me?

If the co-worker received severance because your employer had a severance plan, then you would be entitled to the severance plan benefits unless the employer modified or terminated the plan prior to the decision to lay you off.

If there is no severance plan, then the fact that your employer treated you differently from your co-worker is the very first piece of evidence in a potential discrimination claim. You have a great deal more to prove, though. Here is an article on what you need to prove unlawful discrimination:

http://www.myemploymentlawyer.com/wiki?article=58

To preview, you have to prove that the differing treatment is unlawful discrimination or retaliation. That is because of your age, race, gender, disability, religion or other protected class standard, or because you engaged in protected conduct and he or she did not.

posted by Neil Klingshirn  |  Jul 27, 2009 07:21 AM [EST]