Not that I agree with any of this, nor am I sure that any of this is even written, but that's probably what it is. All of these gigs being at will employment certainly doesn't help the employee here.
If I entered into an employee contract with the understanding that I would be given responsibility of a team or project, even though such an understanding was not in the contract, and then the management decides to take away that responsibility, can I say that they are in breach because it was "my understanding" that I would be given responsibility? It would be just as much of an "understanding" as saying that there was an implicit agreement about location of work when that's not in the contract either.
Yes, employers will have you sign an official looking employment agreement, which basically serves as documentation that they're currently compensating you at X rate, and that you agree to be bound by specific employer rules (like employee handbooks / policies / etc).
Those are not legally binding contracts. At-will workers can leave at any time and can be fired at any time for any reason or no reason, aside from for specific things protected by law (like organizing a union drive, or reporting sexual harassment)
It's crummy and it's my opinion that non-competes should either be illegal everywhere or require employers to continue paying your salary during that period.
But the laws as they stand broadly favor employers in this matter, and the reality of a large well-resourced corporation with a stable of lawyers makes it difficult for employees to fight even in situations where they are in the right.
Your employer cannot retroactively change your compensation for work already performed, but they can, at any time, tell you that your compensation is changing and all future work will be paid at a new (usually lower) rate.
Depending on jurisdiction, if you were to quit in the face of a significant enough pay cut, you might still qualify for unemployment. It's very fact dependent, your former employer will likely contest it (requiring an appeal on your part), and you should talk to an employment lawyer.
Worker's rights in the US are generally terrible so it's a giant patchwork of varying quality.
Yes, absolutely, 100%, every single job offer I ever laid eyes on has this sort of language:
"You agree you are an employee at will"
"Nothing about this offer should be constitute a guarantee of future employment"
"Either you or {company} may terminate this agreement at any time for any reason or no reason at all"
And even once "this job offer is not an employment contract."
Stuff like that. You only avoid it if you have a union that negotiated an actual contract for you.
Google has decided to end that original agreement and offer you a different one. You can take it or leave it.
>I'd imagine a few employee lawsuits on breach of contract that will test that.
Lol, no, its extremely common for employers to change compensation or benefits unilaterally without notice, at the very least it usually happens every couple years when insurance rates are renegotiated and new benefits packages are put together.
I once worked somewhere where on a random Friday an email went out saying "we will no longer have any 401k match." Bam, I just lost thousands of dollars in compensation with no warning or fanfare. A few weeks later it was another email - "here's the new PTO accrual." A week vacation taken away from me, just like that.
Base pay: $X
Location pay: $Y
Benefits: $
Options: $
This way you can see what the company is valuing you as an employee and valuing the location as compensation.
The employee agreement states a place of work. If they employee stops attending the workplace as defined by the company and without the employer’s agreement, they aren’t entitled to continue receiving the same benefits.
All employment terms are always up for re-negotiation, but the company doesn’t have to accept the proposed terms nor do they have to continue paying the employee when they fail to deliver on the agreed terms.
> I'd imagine a few employee lawsuits on breach of contract that will test that.
No, employees can’t expect to win lawsuits against their employer when the employee breaks the agreement that they willingly entered into.
Welcome to the last 40+ years of corporate economics. The only power that employees can have against employers is through collective action. It's unfortunate that most people in tech see themselves as too good for labor unions.