Working on H4 EAD while H1 was approved - Issue?

USA H1B Visa
1

My friend has H4-EAD till next month, January 2021. She was working for Company A on H4-EAD from 2019. She applied for the H1B lottery via Company B in April and it got approved effective Oct 1 2020. Unaware of H1 approval, she also applied for H4 & EAD extension. Company B did not place her or pay her any salary. So, she continued to work for Company A on H4-EAD till last week. However, she was told that her status got changed to H1 as of October 1 and she should not be working on H4 EAD anymore. She immediately resigned last week. Questions are

  1. Was her H1 active on October 1, even though she did not join Company B, did not work for them and did not get paid by Company B?

  2. From October 1 till last week, she worked for Company A using H4 EAD which is still valid for another month. Is there a problem with this?

Thanks
PK

2
  1. Yes, her status in US was technically H1B as it was filed as COS
  2. Yes, there is a problem. She was on H1B and was working on H4 EAD, this is a pure violation of status.
    She should consult an attorney and plan to fix the issue by exiting the country to avoid accumulating more unlawful presence.