Hi Reddit. For reference, I'm in California.

I work on a small team within a larger international organization of about 200 employees. We've been fully remote since the state's shelter-in-place order was announced. Today a member of my team, who I often work closely with, was fired without known cause. Our manager asked to meet with him in person at the office this morning, and he was instructed to bring his computer.

He had been there for about two years and never received any kind of disciplinary action or even casual talk about his performance. Arguably, he is the most talented member of our team. He was enjoyable to work with and conducted himself professionally.

He called me after the termination to tell me he wasn't given a reason by either our manager or the HR director, both of whom were in the meeting. He explicitly asked why and they refused to answer him. I am stumped and also very freaked out.

Our company has been in the middle of negotiations with a venture capitalist firm, although as far as I know nothing has been signed or made official. However, my coworker told me this was not framed to him as a layoff--it was unambiguously a termination.

I guess I have two questions. How freaked out should I be? My manager called me later in the morning to notify me and tell me my job is safe, but that doesn't feel very comforting right now. Given the state of the world, looking for another job isn't likely to be very fruitful for at least the foreseeable future.

When I was hired (less than a year ago), I requested an employee handbook but was told that none exists. On the phone with my manager today, I asked if we have any kind of formal disciplinary system (to address performance issues before termination) and she said no. Both of these factors seem to open the company up to a lot of liability. Is it worth reaching out to an employment lawyer just to understand my rights?

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