In an employee self-service (ESS) portal, which activity can nonsupervisory employees perform?

• A. Add a new dependent to benefits
• B. Change the company's tax filing status
• C. Approve payroll runs
• D. Design new benefits

Answer: (A)

In an employee self-service portal, the focus is on letting employees manage their own information and benefits within allowed permissions. Nonsupervisory employees typically have the ability to update personal data and enroll or adjust benefits for themselves and their dependents. Adding a new dependent to benefits is a common ESS task because it directly affects an employee’s benefits coverage without requiring involvement from HR or payroll.

The other options require higher-level access: changing the company’s tax filing status is a payroll/tax configuration task managed by HR/payroll administrators; approving payroll runs is a supervisory duty tied to payroll processing; designing or creating new benefits is a responsibility of the HR/benefits team.