Yes they can pick and choose who gets benefits. The fact is that not all employees need be treated the same or even fairly. That is unless such lesser treatment is due to some form of legally actionable discrimination (i.e. is due to race, religion, age (over 40), disability, gender, national origin, etc.). Otherwise, absent a union agreement or empliyment contract to the contrary, some workers can recieve benefits that other co-workers do not.