It has become common now for employees to post their terminations on social media.  In a recent video, an employee, tipped off that her remote sales role was about to be cut, quietly hit record and pushed back on the two HR representatives delivering the news — neither of whom she had ever met. She posted the recording online, and it has been viewed by millions. It is worth watching these videos, not to judge the people in it — a termination is a hard, human moment, and there is no single right way to do it — but because it captures, in real time, where remote and recorded terminations create new risk for California employers.

Here are five takeaways for conducting a termination in 2026, when you should assume the conversation may end up on someone’s phone.

1. Assume the meeting is being recorded — and act accordingly.

A few years ago this was a fringe concern. Today, an employee who knows a termination is coming will often prepare a recording, and the technology in everyone’s pocket makes it effortless. California is a two-party (all-party) consent state: under Penal Code section 632, it is a crime to record a confidential communication without the consent of every participant, and a communication is “confidential” when a party has an objectively reasonable expectation it is not being overheard or recorded. A recording made without that consent is generally inadmissible in court under section 632(d) — but admissibility is cold comfort once the clip is on social media. The practical lesson is simple: conduct every termination as though it will be played back later. Be professional, be consistent, and never say anything in the room you would not want a jury, or the internet, to hear.

There is a wrinkle worth noting. If the employer consents to a recording, it is hard for that employer to later complain that the employee recorded the same conversation. That raises a question we now get regularly: should the employer record the termination? My own thinking has shifted. A few years ago I would have said no. But if the employee is likely to record it anyway, there is an argument for having your own complete, accurate record — much like the body-camera evolution in law enforcement, where officers came to see the camera as protection precisely because they were doing things correctly. Reasonable practitioners disagree on this; some attorneys prefer never to have a recording of a termination meeting in existence at all. If you go the recording route, get genuine consent from everyone on the call and make sure your people are trained to perform well on tape.

2. Lock the reason down before the meeting — and do not argue it in the room.

The single most damaging moment in the video was the answer to “Why am I getting let go?” The representatives did not have a crisp, documented reason ready and instead offered to “circle back” with data they almost certainly will never send. That is the worst of both worlds: it signals the reason was not thought through, and it makes a promise the company will not keep. California is an at-will state, so an employer generally need not have a reason at all — but the moment you give one, it must be accurate, documented, and consistent everywhere it appears, including on the Notice to Employee as to Change in Relationship. Do not label a performance termination a “layoff” to soften the blow, and do not say “performance” when you mean the whole department is being cut; an inconsistency between what you say and what you wrote becomes a credibility problem if the employee later claims the real reason was illegal. Once you have stated the reason, stick to it. This is the “Moneyball” approach to terminations — deliver it directly, do not over-explain, and do not get drawn into debating whether the employee really underperformed. A measured “We understand you may not agree, but the decision has been made and we are moving forward” closes the loop without opening an argument.

3. Run the pre-termination red-flag audit — and respect the 90-day window.

Before any termination is final, review the entire personnel file looking for recent protected activity: wage complaints, a return from protected leave, a safety report, a whistleblower disclosure. This is no longer just good hygiene. Under SB 497 (the Equal Pay and Anti-Retaliation Protection Act), effective January 1, 2024, California law now creates a rebuttable presumption of retaliation when an employer takes an adverse action — including discharge — within 90 days of an employee engaging in activity protected under Labor Code sections 98.6, 1102.5, or 1197.5. The presumption shifts the early burden to the employer, but it is rebuttable: the way you overcome it is with a legitimate, well-documented, non-retaliatory reason that predates the protected activity. So if a termination falls inside that window, slow down, document the business reason thoroughly, and consider getting a second set of eyes from counsel. It also helps to note who is making the call — when the same person who hired the employee is the one firing them, the same-actor inference can cut in the employer’s favor.

4. Think through who is in the room — and avoid singling people out.

Two strangers delivering a termination to an employee who has never met either of them added confusion and emotion to an already difficult moment, and left no one on the call who could speak credibly to the employee’s actual performance. Having two company representatives present is good practice — one to deliver, one to witness and take notes. But at least one of them should be someone who knows the employee, ideally the direct supervisor who can stand behind the stated reason. Relatedly, when a termination is really part of a broader reduction, doing them one employee at a time creates two problems: it makes each person feel personally singled out for “performance” when the real driver was a headcount decision, and it lets word spread so the next person is tipped off and arrives ready to record. Where a whole group or department is going, handle it as a coordinated group action. None of this means remote terminations are off-limits — nothing in California law requires an in-person discharge, and remote separations are a permanent part of the landscape — but the remoteness makes deliberate planning about who delivers the message more important, not less.

5. Do not let “remote” or “emotional” derail the final-pay and notice mechanics.

A remote or out-of-state employer still owes immediate final pay at termination under Labor Code section 201, and a late final check still triggers waiting-time penalties under section 203 of up to 30 days’ wages. Remote logistics introduce specific traps. To pay a final check by direct deposit you need a new, separate written authorization for the final wages — the one signed at hire will not carry the day, and if the deposit does not land until the next day you have arguably paid late. To mail the check, get written authorization that includes the mailing address; the payment is then deemed made on the date mailed. And the required separation documents still have to go out regardless of distance: the change-in-relationship notice, the EDD’s unemployment benefits pamphlet, the COBRA or Cal-COBRA notice, and the state DHCS (HIPP) notice. One more reminder that surfaces constantly: if you bring an employee in for a scheduled shift and terminate immediately, you can owe reporting-time pay even though little or no work was performed — let the employee work at least half the shift first, or build the reporting-time amount into the final check. For the full mechanics of final pay, required notices, and severance releases, see our prior post on conducting California terminations here.

The throughline of the video — and of every termination — is that respect and preparation are the best risk management you have. Treat the employee with dignity, have the reason and the paperwork ready before you walk in, and assume someone is watching. Happy employees rarely sue, and employees who feel heard rarely do either; even one who disagrees with the decision will often, with a little time, understand that it was handled fairly. Done that way, a termination stops being your most dangerous moment and becomes one of your better-defended ones.