Although employers may legally let employees go from their jobs for no reason (when employment is “at will”), it is against federal and state laws to fire someone because of their race, ethnicity, country of origin, gender or sexual orientation, age and/or disability.
In the US, companies are not required to give severance packages when doing layoffs. Check your local states' labor laws, as it may differ, but most states simply follow Federal Guidelines and there isn't a Federal requirement.
The federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act) requires employers to provide 60 days' notice, during which all wages and benefits will continue to flow as usual, giving those who were laid off at least a little time to brace for unemployment, or get busy finding that new (better — knock wood) ...
Eligibility for Retiree Health and Life Insurance Benefits Rule of 70: the employee's age plus years of continuous, full-time service equal 70 or more, and the employee is at least age 55, with at least ten years of continuous, full-time service.
Extension of Benefits Under Rule of 70 To be eligible to retire, you must be at least age 55 with 10 years of service or age 65. Years of service for the “Rule of 70” eligibility purposes, means total years of employment from date of hire to date of termination.
Don't talk about how bad you feel. Don't offer false hopes. Don't make it a surprise if it's performance related. Don't make them do a perp walk. Don't wing it. Don't do it over the phone, via an email, or in some other chickenpoop way.
It makes no difference how long you've been with a company so yes, it's legal to lay off any and everyone without severance. The exceptions: a union agreement requiring severance, a personal contract calling for a severance. This is usually only for executives and ``key'' people.
Being fired without cause means an employer is letting an employee go, but not because of serious workplace misconduct. Conversely, being fired with cause means the employee committed a serious breach of conduct in their workplace, which led to their termination.