Q: I was demoted with no clear reason and no explanation from HR with no reports of poor performance. California
I was a director of product management from Nov 2017 to Nov 2020 and was demoted to Lead product manager with a pay cut. 166K to 150K
The demotion notice was out of a blue from my manager around Oct 2020. They offered termination or take a demotion. I'm still doing the same work and more.
I had no say or even a conversation with HR. I had no incidents or reports about poor performance from HR. They just said it was a decision due to company organization changes. However, I didn't see anyone else's title drop in the company.
I believe this was a malicious act from another VP that was upset at me because one of his projects was not delivered on time due to issues out of my control. Since I was working on the project, I supposed he blamed it on me and other employees. Since then this person was terminated and the same with my manager at that time.
My old salary was finally reinstated about 3 mths ago. A former manager was able to get this approved. Loss of pay over 10 mths
A:
I am sorry this has happened to you. In California, you are considered an at-will employee unless you have a valid contract to the contrary about your employment status. At-will employment essentially describes a working environment in which employers are free to change the terms of employment, demote, or terminate employees at any time, without cause, explanation, or prior warning provided it does not violate state and federal anti-discrimination laws. Specifically, unless you can prove that you were singled out and demoted based on your membership in the protected class of people or because you engaged in protected activity, the demotion wasn't unlawful.
Sincerely,
Maya L. Serkova, Esq.
Ian Pike and Brad S Kane agree with this answer
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