I am quitting my job of 5 years and already have my contract signed and start date for my new job. However, I have over 100 hours of PTO and want to try using some of them before I quit. I am not interested in being in good standing with the company as I have internal referrals that would hold more weight than what HR would have, and is the one encouraging me to resign this way. Note, I am going into a completely different industry. I was going to call out for the last two days of this week, work the next week like nothing happened, I have approved PTO for the following week, which is my start week of my new job, and would show up the day after Memorial Day and will resign in person effective immediately and head to my new job in the morning. Per my handbook, I will not get paid out my PTO upon resignation nor can you take PTO after you put your notice in, they just request a two week notice to remain in good standings with the company. Now, it is PTO I have acquired with my hours worked, so it has been earned, but I am in a state that is at will and does not protect PTO.
So my question is, if I resign like that, can they reverse the PTO I took for the week prior since I will not be giving any notice?