Radio Shack’s use of the internet to give more than 400 employees notice of their involuntary separation from the firm in 2006 resulted in “abusive discharge” cause of actions arguing that an email termination was degrading and humiliating. However, during the past two years internet termination has become routine, as evidenced by the three-minute Zoom call that simultaneously terminated more than 900 Better.com employees, and in a similar manner an American used-car company, Carvana, fired 2,500 employees. In short, internet employment terminations are now lawful so long as they are properly executed.
Traditionally, job termination notices took the form of a pink slip employees found in their mailbox or paycheck. As communication technology has advanced, so have the methods of giving termination notices to employees. Face-to-face verbal communication of termination has given way to the use of mailing, then to phone calls, then to phone messages, then to -mail messages, and now to internet video communications, such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Skype.
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