My Boss Cut My Yearly Salary By $25k, Effective Feb 1st

Hello all. I apologize if this is a little long or rambling, I’m posting on behalf of my friend with her permission. We are in the state of California.

Several months ago, she was hired on as a sales account executive at a small company that sells software to companies. She was hired on with a $75K base yearly salary, earning commission as well, with a salary exempt status specified in her contract. She is also 21 weeks pregnant.

This morning, her boss emailed her informing her that effective February 1st, “all” account executives will be receiving a base salary cut of $25k, making her yearly base $50k instead of $75k. I put “all” in quotes because the night before he sent this email, he changed the only other account executive’s position title. So, my friend is the only one receiving this cut.

He did not address the fact that this is significantly below the minimum wage for a salary exempt employee in our state, and did not specify that he was moving her to non-exempt. Despite being a reliable and punctual employee, she is pretty convinced he is trying to force her to quit because she is pregnant.

My questions for you all are: does she have grounds for a discrimination claim? Has her boss violated any employment laws? What is the implication of her salary exempt status being stated on her contract?

Any and all advice is appreciated!! This is a huge blow to her family. With the baby on the way, they can’t afford this pay cut. Nor can she viably search for a new job at 21 weeks pregnant.