A co-worker was told she was being laid off in 6 months, but if anyone was told, she would termed now. Legal?

Just like the above says. Is this legal? A company approaches someone and says "we can't afford to keep you, we have nothing for you to do in the company, you must leave within 6 months, but if you tell anyone in the company you will be fired immediately". Various other positions also open up within the company in which she is qualified for and she is not being offered them. Another strange coincidence is she is also in divorce precedings with her husband whom works in the corporate headquarters. (Husband does not make any executive decisions, but has worked for the company for almost two decades.) Should she get a lawyer and what rights, if any, are being violated? Does a company have right to put a 'gag order' on its employees in this fashion?

I think everyone in the company would agree she is a well qualified worker. Definitely not an independent contractor position. Full time - salary. Administrative Assisant/Office Supervisor.

Parts of this are legal, and parts are not. For example, it is permissible, and even advisable, to give an employee a significant notice period that their position is being eliminated and they should look for work elsewhere. It would not be legal to "eliminate the employee's position" and then immediately turn around and hire someone else to backfill that job.

I would also like to understand what, if any, benefit she is being offered here (severance pay, benefits continuation, for example), and whether she has been asked to sign a document/severance agreement waiving certain rights. Depending what she has agreed to, the "gag order" may or may not be legal. I'd also like to understand how many people are involved in this deal...if there are 10 people who know about it and word gets out, how will they prove it was she who spoke?

Companies cannot take retaliatory action against an employee, meaning they cannot take adverse employment action (termination, demotion, pay cut, etc.) without cause. For example, if she were a poor performer, they could terminate her for cause...if they were having financial trouble, they could lay her off. From your account, that doesn't seem to be the case. I agree that it is strange that she is not being considered for other internal vacancies...I would encourage her to utilize any internal application processes in order to be considered for those jobs (or have a record that she has been turned down for them.)

Finally, she should consult an employment attorney in her local area who can advise her on the specifics to which she may be entitled. This scenario is suspicious at best. Good luck.

I would talk to a lawyer that specializes in employment law and see what my rights were.

it does sound like she is being harassed

but to be fair you need to describe her work history what kind of evals has she recieved any negative performance marks, etc.

consult a lawyer she should have an arguement about being passed over for other job opennings if she is truly qualified. she should at least be allowed to apply for them

She sounds like she is a contract employee. They just told her that they are not going to renew her contract and there is not a damn thing she can do about it. And a company has a right to put a gag order on it's employees if they sign it.

Sounds like she needs to discuss this with a lawyer. I'm sure the company talked with their own lawyers prior to speaking with her to cover their bases, but they are walking a fine line due to the inter-office relationship.

Company's Do Not tell an employee that.(because she could have an Accident and sue the company) If she was told that it must have been through a friend. Legally she can do nothing , but if she stays until they put the lay off slip in her hand she can draw unemployment comp.

I'm assuming you are in the US - if you are somewhere else the answer might be different.

Nothing in your question indicates that anything illegal is going on. Actually the company was decent in giving her a 6 months heads-up to give her time to find another job.

The fact that she and her husband are getting a divorce might or might not have anything to do with her "layoff" but that doesn't change the legal situation any.