How much weight does an employee handbook have, legally speaking, where laws don't override them. Like attendace policy, discipline policy, etc.

"sounds like an employee handbook to me and that is not the legal last word on anything" Pattymd http://www.laborlawtalk.com/showthread.php?t=88648

Very few employee handbooks rise to the level of enforceable contracts. You would have to have the specific handbook in question reviewed by a local attorney.

The problem with employment manuals is that they are frequently contradictory. For instance, Page 1 will say "All employment is at-will and nothing in this manual creates a contract." Then on Page 28, "Discipline Policy", it says "All employees will be given a written warning prior to termination except in extreme cases."

While the handbook would not be considered a contract, certain types of promises can be enforeced. A promise that a reasonable person would rely on and the employee actually does rely on could be enforced by the courts.

In addition, oral statements can override what is in an employee handbook, even if the employee handbooks says that they don't.

For certain things, such as accrued vacation, the manual would be binding for work performed. That is, if it says you accrue 3 weeks of vacation in a year, then you accrue 3 weeks a year.

In addition, a manual that states that "A $1000 bonus will be paid to all employees who sell more than 50 cars in the year" would be sufficient to create a contract on this point.

So employee handbooks are certainly not the "legal last word on anything," but they can bind a company in certain ways.