Legal Question in Employment Law in Washington

Re: Unjustly layed off

Unless there is a contract (either a collective bargaining agreement or one that you have individually with the company), the company can law off whoever they choose. However, they cannot choose their layoff candidates based on illegal reasons. There seem to be several reasons in play here, some of which may be illegal.

Nepotism (favoring relatives) is not illegal in private companies, though it is often a bad policy.

Laying off the higher paid employee with greater seniority is also legal.

Discrimination based on gender and marital status is illegal in Washington. It is not clear from your post whether the "Wife and mother...financial disaster" clause is a quote from your employer or your own feelings about the situation. If a quote from your employer, this strongly suggests discrimination based on both gender and marital status. (One assumes the employer is not warning male employees that as husbands and fathers... etc.) Withholding opportunities because of gender based reasons is also illegal. (I am assuming they did not withhold promotions from male employees so that they would not have to travel far from their kids.)

In short, based on what you have told me, it sounds as though both the withholding of the promotion and the choice to lay you off instead of someone else were based largely on gender and marital status, though other reasons lurk in the undercurrent. This is illegal, but unless you have persuasive proof that these were substantial factors in the decision making process, you may not be able to press the case. Persuasive proof would be a letter or email from the employer spelling out the illegal reason, or a witness who could be relied on. (Current employees tend to be concerned for their jobs, and tend to be unable to remember details when pressed to testify.)

You may want to discuss your case in greater detail with an employment law attorney to determine whether it is worth pursuing. Good luck.