Dependants hold L-2 status derived from the principal's L-1, so anything that threatens his status reaches them. The spouse's employment authorisation is incident to L-2 status and therefore also derivative. Children may study but not work, and dependent status ends at twenty-one regardless of what happens to the employer.
One event, four sets of consequences
A transaction that raises a question about the principal's classification raises the same question for everybody admitted alongside him. The spouse's ability to work is the most visible exposure, because it comes from L-2 status rather than from a separate permission, so it is only as secure as that status. A spouse who has taken a job locally should understand that the two things are linked.
Children can remain in school, and their status ends when the principal's does. Age is a separate clock that no corporate event alters: dependent status requires the child to be unmarried and under twenty-one, so a household with a seventeen-year-old is planning within a fixed horizon and should look at a change to student status well before the birthday. The practical step after any announcement is to review each family member's end date and each person's activity, rather than assuming the issue belongs only to the employee.