Commitment to stay on, binding? Risks?

I don't think that you can be sued for refusing to commit to staying until a specific date. Truth be told, I don't think that you should commit to a specific date. It would not be a good idea to have that in writing because it creates an obligation to stay, legal or otherwise.

When you say you are in a process now, are you still interviewing or do you have an offer in hand? How long does your boss want you to stay?

If you are still interviewing and get the job, its not like you will be starting the next day. If you get the job you will probably be starting in about two weeks and you shouldn't have difficulty in asking for a little more time if needed.

Your employment contract should supersede all else. If you do write an email i would just word it a certain way such as "Per our, I am planning for my last day to be on xx" or something along those lines or just pop in his office and tell him you are ok with staying (verbally) if thats what you want.

If your state has at-will employment, I think what your boss is asking for is illegal and therefore non-binding. If I were you, I'd agree to it (especially b/c he can fire you for whatever reason) and try to stick to it. If you get a job and your new employer absolutely won't let you honor it, then you renege, and I don't think they can really come after you.

tl;dr-ask a lawyer

Why can't you just commit and if you end up with an offer tell them you can't start until that date?

Since it's at-will employment, you are under no contractual obligations (and neither is your employer). Even though any "commitment" via email will not be legally binding, if writing an email, in an abundance of caution, I would utilize language such as "intend to work until Date" instead of "commit to work until Date" to provide flexibility.

I have switched firms twice, and my best advice is to wait until you have an offer in hand from another firm before informing your employer of the situation. Then you have the opportunity for a potential counteroffer from your current firm - if that is of interest to you. Putting a stake in the ground around a date destroys the option value of the situation.

All, Thanks for the advice.

It's a fluid situation, so I am clearly working towards offering to give as much notice as possible, rather than commit to a timeline I'm not 100% certain I can do.

The most likely outcome of all of this is will be me starting the new job AFTER the end of my commitment, but that is still fluid as well.

The message here for everyone is to not let your employer know you are looking. In this situation, it was unavoidable.

The legal advice I have received is that if I do commit and break that commitment, there could be some recourse depending on the damages done by my employer relying on my statement. Whether that's enough to lead to legal action or not is a "it depends".

I believe the legal term is "promissory estoppel"- if you're in the wrong state- but most employees are fairly judgment proof. You're simply not worth suing.

The real problem is the professional damage associated with sending out an email to a bunch of people making a promise and then breaking it and leaving coworkers and your boss in the lurch. I would really try to avoid that situation, especially if this isn't a switch to a totally new industry.

It's at-will employment so you're not under any obligation to send that letter. I'd go back and try to agree that you'll give two , three, maybe four weeks notice, and then stick to that commitment. And your boss is creating a lose-lose situation if he fires you today. He needs some certainty that you just won't up and not show up to work tomorrow, but you need to be a good steward of your option to leave and your professional reputation.

I would not send that letter as is if I were more than 80% confident I had an offer and really wanted the job. I would counter with two weeks or some length of notice. Then I'd tell the firm hiring me that I had a notice agreement in place. I don't know what industry you work in, but a one month notice agreement or longer is fairly common in banking as well as HFT (sometimes non-competes can last for over a year)

Edit: shortened my response. Don't know your boss's situation- he may be trying to protect you from someone further up for all we know. Do know that most firms hiring from banks and hedge funds can work with a one month notice period, and this is probably something your boss can work with too.

You also have a lot of leverage when you like your current job and have an offer in hand to go elsewhere, you definitely have much more negotiating leverage in terms of start dates, etc. and whoever is hiring you should understand/emphasize if you have a project that is too far along to be handed off to someone else, etc. unless the place you are going to is understaffed/slammed and needs you now.

I would just tell your boss you can give him a verbal commitment and dont want to put anything in writing as it wouldn't even matter considered its superseded by at-will employment but that you definitely want to play ball and make a smooth transition which would benefit all parties involved. Absolute worse case if you arent far along the recruiting timeline and feel like your job will go away you could always draft a one liner thats vague and uses "intend" or something along those lines, highly doubt the guy would push back and make you send a 2nd email that would be very awkward.

Can you share why your employer had to find out in this case regarding your intention to leave?

That's unfortunate. I don't know the circumstances but employers generally don't like knowing their staff members are actively looking (there are obviously exceptions) and as some have mentioned, it's in everyone's interests to not make things messy. I've changed firms and although finance is weird - i.e. they may just lock you out if you have access to sensitive info, etc. - understand that if you always act with integrity, most firms are understanding. I would not agree to a specific date. Again, w/o knowing your specifics, I would just reassure to your manager that you are committed to the business and ensuring a proper transition...that may be 2 days or 4 weeks depending on your role but it's never good to burn bridges...thank your current employer for the experience and tell your new employer that you need to fulfill a professional obligation to make a seamless transition (in most cases, your new employer will appreciate this even if it means you have to delay a start date).

Finance is a broad "industry" but depending on what you do, you'd be surprised how often you run into old faces.

I agree with IlliniProgrammer (think he generally has the best advice here) and some of the others. Don't be too specific about putting things in writing and no one but you really knows the situation. Don't get attorneys involved. Period.

I'm older than the average user on this but I once gave a well-known firm something like four weeks notice or as long as was necessary. They were appreciative. Pretty much spent a few days in the office then made sure I was available if anything was needed. Integrity within this industry will serve you well and I wish some of the younger users realize that. Yes, it's employment at will and technically you can probably just leave but people have long memories and you never know when you'll run into your current colleagues or anyone they talk to for that matter.