I've never had a software engineering position in the US that had a contract. For me it's always been we'll pay you X, we reserve the right to change X at any time for any/no reason, there might be bonuses but who can say, and we can fire you without notice at any time for any/no reason.

Hm. I've been an independent consultant for too long I guess. Back in the day, we signed a dozen forms to get hired including one indicating pay and duties.

But if they lower your wages, you can generally qualify for unemployment.

That sounds like a contract. An oral contract is still one.

These are written, not oral. The point is it's written in the agreement that the company can unilaterally change the compensation without notice or reason.

Employment contracts basically don't exist in the US software industry.

the pay increase is quite frequent and ubiquitous, so contracts are re negotiated, most employment contracts don't come with time limits.