I plan to resign with 72 hours written notice from an inside sales position. I signed an employment agreement saying I am an 'at will' employee however, in the same agreement they stipulate that I must give 120 days notice. The employee handbook says that either I or my employer may terminate the employment relationship at any time with or without cause and with or without prior notice. Which prevails? And, what if any impact will this have on my ability to collect commission and bonus pay that I have earned up until the date I give notice?

Also, the company wrote in a memo distributed only to managers that "generally, company name will not pay out any Post Event bonuses once the employee who has a right to the claim terminates." This statement was made in the context of explaining to managers that they may not expect to be paid out on their terminated employees bonuses and commissions. Nowhere in the employee agreement or handbook is it stated that terminated employees may not expect to be paid out. But... is it possible that the company could contest paying the commission and bonus earned and due me once I have tendered my resignation? If so, is this the type of action that can be brought before the California Labor Board for review?

I cannot comment on an employment agreement that I have not read.

Bonus and commission payments to terminated employees are complicated. CA has a certain tendency to support these payments, but this is not an absolute and depends a lot on how your company's compensation policy (which I also have not read) is drafted. I would certainly recommend that you file a claim and force your employer to support their position. Past that, CA has an audit manual that you can download. It is really just a collection of past rules, opinion letters and court decisions, but it will give you a feel for what CA looks at. Do keyword search against "commision" and "bonus". You will get way too many hits, but if you plow through them you will probably find something useful.

If you have not left yet, you might want to make a copy of the company's policies first.

http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/Manual-Instructions.htm

Thank you I'll read through the suggested site. The commission policy is not written in one place but scattered throughout various memos all of which I have copies of including my initial commission payout schedule received in my employment agreement. I'll hope for the best but am prepared to file a claim and argue the point.