MCLE Self-Study Test

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This article is provided solely for research and archival purposes. MCLE self-study credit is no longer available. Even if you follow the instructions and submit payment you will not be granted MCLE self-study credit. Please note that low-cost MCLE is provided by the California Lawyers Association, pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 6056.

Answer the following questions after reading the article on INS rules. Use the answer form provided to send the test, along with a $20 processing fee, to the State Bar. Please allow at least eight weeks for MCLE certificates and answer rationales to reach you in the mail.

1. The obligation of an employer to verify the employment eligibility of its workers is governed by U.S. federal law.

2. The form to be completed by both employer and employee to verify employment eligibility is Form W-2.

3. It is not necessary to undertake employment verification procedures for an individual who was born in the United States.

4. An employer may continue to employ an individual found to be unauthorized, if at the time of hire the employer believed the person was authorized to accept employment.

5. In attempting to comply with federal immigration law, an employer may, based on local conditions, formulate its own list of documentation which it considers acceptable proof of employment authorization in the United States.

6. Instead of completing Form I-9, an employer may simply maintain photocopies of a worker's documents to satisfy the law, as long as the copies are maintained properly.

7. Simple errors not intended as fraud in preparing Form I-9 will not subject an employer to penalties.

8. If more than one error is made in completing a Form I-9, the form is viewed in its entirety and one lump-sum fine is assessed.

9. There may be criminal implications to hiring unauthorized workers.

10. Form I-9 for a particular worker is considered promptly completed if finished by December 31 of the year of hire.

11. Form I-9 need not be completed if employment will last less than three days.

12. Employees hired before the Immigration and Reform Control Act of 1986 and continuing in their employment since that time are nevertheless now subject to the same requirements as all other workers with regard to completing Form I-9.

13. If an employee was originally hired before November 1986, but left employment and then returned, Form I-9 is not necessary because the employee was grandfathered under the law.

14. The employee can wait until the end of the employer's initial 60-day probationary period to complete Section One of Form I-9 containing the employee's personal information.

15. Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees are exempt from conducting employment verification and preparing Forms I-9.

16. An employer cannot dictate to a worker which documents are acceptable as proof of employment authorization.

17. An employer need not reverify employment simply because a document presented by the employee had an expiration date, as long as the document had not expired on the date of hire.

18. An employer must keep all Forms I-9 for at least five years.

19. If employment verification takes longer than three days after hiring, Form I-9 should be backdated to the date of hire to avoid penalty.

20. An employer must produce all Forms I-9 to an agent of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service immediately upon request by the agent.

This activity has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of California in the amount of 1 hour.

The State Bar of California certifies that this activity conforms to the standards for approved education activities prescribed by the rules and regulations of the State Bar of California governing minimum continuing legal education.