No, not based on your facts. NY is an employment At Will state which means that an employer is free to terminate their employees so long as that Termination doesn't violate a written employment agreement or is not based on race, age, gender, etc.

In a situation like this where there is a merger/acquisition with a massive Layoff it is extremely difficult to prove that she was terminated for an illegal reason so if there is not a written employment agreement then there is no lawsuit possible and therefore taking the 7 weeks severance is not a bad deal although she will want to make sure that the agreement doesn't prevent her from drawing unemployment in the future.


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