Job Offer Changed After Acceptance

[needsomehelp411]

My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: California

In mid-March, my husband accepted a position at a new company. He waited to receive the offer letter from the new company, before submitting his two weeks notice at his old company.

On April 1st, he submitted his two weeks notice to his old company but they did not accept the entire notice because he was leaving to a company, that although not a direct competitor, was in the same general category of product distribution.

The old company met him half way and his last day was April 8th. After getting his final paycheck, the husband receives a call late in the day from the new company. A HR rep informs him that they have changed up the details in his offer letter and will pay him a completely different amount.
The first offer letter confirmed what they told him when they hired him, he'd be earning $20 a hour plus commission, bonuses, and incentives. He accepted the position because it was a slight raise over the old company.
The new offer letter will only pay him $9 a hour plus commission, bonuses, and incentives.

The reason he took the job was because of the starting pay at the new company. Now only earning $9 a hour, he is only earning near half of what he made at the old company (base pay). The commission/bonuses/incentive package is very weak in the new offer letter.

We're concerned that he won't even make the base pay of $20 a hour that he was initially offered, let alone any comm/bonus/incentives added to it.

Even as I write this, I'm thinking that we're SOL. We're in an at-will state and it was not a contract, just a job offer letter.

Apart from us being SOL and nothing we can do about it, are there any other options (besides not taking the position)? Going back to his old employer is obviously out of the question.

Thank you !!!

[PattyPA]

That's a huge change. Contact an attorney regarding a possible detrimental reliance case. That's about all he can do.

[antrc170]

A lot will depend on the wording of the offer letter. Even though it wasn't a contract per se, even in at-will employment states the courts do recognize an implied contract which would be the basis for the detrimental reliance case that patty mentioned. If a reasonable person could assume that the offer letter stated that the compensation was not subject to change, then there may be a case that an implied contract exsisted. You really need to take it to a lawyer specializing in labor issues.

[needsomehelp411]

Thank you both for your help. Will begin checking into it ASAP.