Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Unfair and Unjustified Demotion to At-Will-Employee

In April I was given a written notice that I was promoted to a supervisory level and that my pay was to be adjusted accordingly. In May my pay was retroactively (and for ongoing purposes) adjusted to the new rate as stated in the letter. As of June, I had noticed that my new position had not been reflected in the HR or Scheduling System. Late June, I was pulled in to a Director�s office, and was told that I was not going to get the promotion previously stated in the letter. Meanwhile, I had been operating under the assumption that my promotion was effective in the beginning of April, in my new role as a supervisor. Now, effectively, I have received a demotion from my new position. I am an at-will employee in California and have been highly ranked at the top of my class with no performance issues, problems, or complaints. I was told the reason of my not receiving the promotion was for staff morale reasons. Do I have any course of action?


Asked on 6/27/03, 5:10 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Miller Robert L. Miller & Associates, A Law Corporation

Re: Unfair and Unjustified Demotion to At-Will-Employee

Thank you for your posting.

You may have recourse. If you were discriminated against on the basis of race, religion, national origin, or for some other illegal reason, your demotion would be illegal. If you had a written contract with the terms of any prerequisites to demotion (written warning, etc.), you may have cause to sue. If the demotion singled you out and was in bad faith, you may be able to sue.

I hope that this information helps, but if you have further questions, want more information, or feel that you need legal representation, please feel free to email me directly at [email protected]. I am happy to help in any way that I can.

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Answered on 7/01/03, 5:59 pm


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