Attorneys tend to dabble in employment law. Dabbling is not really practicing, but it doesn't mean one can't bill for it. This dabbling is usually not by design but by necessity. A client calls on a Friday afternoon because they can't reach their employment lawyer and asks you if they can fire a 70-year-old employee with 45 years' tenure, or your nephew calls because he just lost his job and wants to know if he can sue. While experienced employment attorneys know the answer to both questions is "no," those who dabble may not know. 

My wife speaks French, and she taught me how to say, "I'm very sorry, but I do not speak French." Being prone to overachieve, I learned how to say it confidently and with a perfect French accent. Later, on a trip to Geneva, I was questioned by a security officer in French. In French, I responded, "I'm very sorry, but I do not speak French." He didn't believe me, pulled me out of the line, and detained me until I convinced him of my ignorance of his language which I spoke so little so fluently. That is the goal of this article, to enable those who dabble not to drivel but to speak intelligently about a very few, but common, issues in employment law.