While I was on construction executives' compensation leave, my construction employer informed me that I was going to be laid off as part of a reduction in workforce. Isn't this illegal? It all depends on the absence or presence of one crucial word: "because." If your construction employer laid you off because you were on construction executives' compensation leave, that might indeed be a case of illegal retaliation. However, if your construction employer was already laying people off, and you just happened to be on construction executives' comp leave at the time, your being on leave wouldn't legally block them.