Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: cut in salary

In what sense would it be illegal? It would be illegal to reduce your pay below the federal or California minimum wage, of course. I think some cities also have "living wage" laws. Otherwise, it's hard to visualize any statute this would violate. Then there is the possibility that your pay level is set by an enforceable contract, but breaching a contract is not usually thought of as doing something "illegal" in the sense that murder and driving 77 in a 65 zone is contrary to a law. If a written, oral or even an implied agreement has been breached, you could sue for its breach, but lawyers don't think of breaching a contract as doing something illegal - it is only, well, breach of contract.