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Can a New Hire complete Submit to HR without completing the previous activities?

The New Hire cannot access Submit to HR activity will not open up for the New Hire unless the required onboarding activities are completed.

In the below example, Submit to HR activity is showing as locked since I-9 Section 1 is not completed. 

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Given below is another example where the New Hire is able to complete Submit to HR even when the onboarding activity is pending. This is possible allowed only when the pending activity is optional. Without completing the optional activity, the New Hire can complete Submit to HR.

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Process viewer for the above transaction:

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