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When an employee's "market value" goes down, it does not warrant a pay cut though: the existing employment contract continues, and the value that the employee p
by tuukkah 5y ago
When an employee's "market value" goes down, it does not warrant a pay cut though: the existing employment contract continues, and the value that the employee provides to the employer does not depend on the employment market.
- machinebun 5y agoPay cuts are a pretty accepted alternative to layoffs during recessions... I think it certainly depends. It's more of an ethical question - as legally, I'm pretty sure the company can implement a salary cut whenever it wants.
- tuukkah 5y agoIf a recession caused Google to run out of money, the pay cuts could be justified much better, but that's not the situation at hand. I think the ethics (and legality?) of arbitrary pay cuts go hand in hand with arbitrary firings: cutting a salary to $1 is essentially the same as a firing. Legality then would logically depend on whether the employment contract is under a state jurisdiction with at-will employment or if there is a requirement of a just cause.
- candybar 5y agoIn the US, employment is generally at-will, which means either side can unilaterally terminate the agreement but either way, these are the people whose employment conditions presently include having to physically show up to work. So, there's no "existing employment contract" here either legally or morally - if want to change one side of the contract (from working in the office to working from home), then it's reasonable for the other side of the contract (compensation) to have to be renegotiated.