I'll assume from the case you mention that this is a Pennsylvania matter. The question of whether employee handbook-type rules can be enforced as contracts is evaluated on a case-by-case basis, but employers are pretty savvy about making sure that handbooks do not create contractual rights. To modify the "at-will" provisions of employment you generally need (a) a contract between yourself and the employer, (b) a collective bargaining agreement (union contract), or (c) to fall under civil service laws that restrict the termination of government employees.

Quote Quoting Ruzicki v. Catholic Cemeteries, Inc., 416 Pa.Super. 37, 610 A.2d 495 (1992).[/quote
The appellant's first argument is that it is a jury question whether appellant's status as a terminable at-will employee was procedurally modified by the appellee given the totality of the circumstances. The tenor of appellant's argument is that the progressive discipline provisions in appellee's handbook (1) applied to the appellant and (2) was part of a legally enforceable implied contract.

We find no merit to appellant's argument. Pennsylvania adheres to the employment at-will presumption, which holds that absent a contract to the contrary, an employee may be discharged for any or no reason. Scott, supra, 376 Pa.Superior Ct. at 94-5, 545 A.2d at 336; Darlington v. General Electric, 350 Pa.Super. 183, 188, 504 A.2d 306, 309 (1986). We have recently held:

The sine qua non of the presumption is that except in rare instances, discharges will not be reviewed in the judicial forum. The presumption may be overcome by express contract, implied in-fact contract (the parties did not intend it to be at-will), and additional consideration passing from the employee to the employer (that is, if the 42*42 employee bestows a legally sufficient detriment for the benefit of the employer beyond the services for which he was hired, a court may infer that the parties intend to overcome the at-will presumption). An employer has no right to discharge even an at-will employee if the firing would contravene a clear public policy or if it is effected with specific intent to harm the employee ... Several recent decisions have noted that any further erosion of the at-will presumption in Pennsylvania should be effected by the legislature, not the courts.

Scott, supra, 376 Pa.Superior Ct. at 95, 545 A.2d at 336 (citations omitted). The appellant does not assert that he is covered by an express contract, that additional consideration passed from the appellant to the appellee, that public policy is violated by his termination, or that his employer specifically intended to harm him by dismissing him. He only asserts that the employee handbook creates an implied contract.

"A handbook is enforceable against an employer if a reasonable person in the employee's position would interpret its provisions as evidencing the employer's intent to supplant the at-will rule." Scott, supra, 376 Pa.Superior Ct. at 97, 545 A.2d at 337; accord Martin v. Capital Cities Media, Inc., 354 Pa.Super. 199, 222, 511 A.2d 830, 841-2 (1986). The handbook, moreover, must contain a clear indication that the employer intended to overcome the at-will presumption. Scott, supra, 376 Pa.Superior Ct. at 97, 545 A.2d at 338; Martin, supra, 354 Pa.Superior Ct. at 222, 511 A.2d at 841-842. We have held that it is for the court to interpret the handbook to discern whether it contains evidence of the employer's intention to be legally bound. Scott, supra, 376 Pa.Superior Ct. at 97, 545 A.2d at 337.

As noted supra, the handbook contains a section entitled "Purpose" which disclaims any intention on the appellee's part of the handbook modifying the at-will employment relationship. Given the explicit disclaimer stating that the handbook does not effect an employee's at-will status, even assuming that the handbook applies to the appellant, appellant faces an insurmountable burden in arguing that the handbook converts him from an at-will employee to one who can only be fired through the use of progressive discipline as articulated in the handbook. After reviewing appellant's arguments as to why the disclaimer should be discounted, we remain unconvinced that the handbook may be said to have modified the at-will relationship between the appellee and his employees.
Why do you believe that the policy in your case rises to the level of a contract?