> there's no accepted corporate method of demoting an employee (in the US)
Legally or culturally?
Where I live (Europe), seems it's legally prohibited, sort of, to lower someone's salary, if the employee doesn't agree (which maybe is obvious, there's a job contract agreement after all). The company would need to fire and rehire the person at a lower salary, but firing people isn't easy.
> constructive dismissal ... generally ... grants [the employee] the right to pursue claims against the employer.
> once agreed upon, wages are implicitly locked in by the common-law of contract as an essential term of the employment relationship. In this regard, it is a constructive dismissal if ...
(That last section is about the UK, I suppose it's the same in the US.)
Legally or culturally?
Where I live (Europe), seems it's legally prohibited, sort of, to lower someone's salary, if the employee doesn't agree (which maybe is obvious, there's a job contract agreement after all). The company would need to fire and rehire the person at a lower salary, but firing people isn't easy.