Many politicians, business leaders, and scholars
discount the role of public policy and emphasize the
role of the labor market when explaining employers’
maternity-leave policies, arguing that prior to the
passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
of 1993, employers were already providing maternity
leave in response to the increase in the number of
women workers. Employers did create maternity-leave
programs in the 1970’s and 1980’s, but not as a purely
voluntary response in the absence of any government
mandate. In 1972, the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) ruled that employers who allowed
leaves for disabling medical conditions must also allow
them for maternity and that failure to do so would
constitute sex discrimination under the Civil Rights Act
of 1964. As early as 1973, a survey found that 58
percent of large employers had responded with new
maternity-leave policies. Because the 1972 EEOC
ruling was contested in court, the ruling won press
attention that popularized maternity-leave policies. Yet
perhaps because the Supreme Court later struck down
the ruling, politicians and scholars have failed to
recognize its effects, assuming that employers adopted
maternity-leave policies in response to the growing
feminization of the workforce.
It can be inferred that the author of the passage
would be most likely to agree with which of the
following statements about government policy?
A. Government policy is generally unaffected by
pressures in the labor market.
B. The impact of a given government policy is
generally weakened by sustained press attention.
C. It is possible for a particular government policy to
continue to have an impact after that policy has been
eliminated.
D. A given government policy can be
counterproductive when that policy has already
unofficially been implemented.
E. The impact of a given government policy is
generally weakened when the ruling is contested in
court.


I could not understand why is the answer to this C it is not stated anywhere in the passage that implies C what am i Misisng

thanks for your response

Hi Kyle, can you please explain the reasoning for the below question from the same passage:

The passage suggests that the relationship between the view of the author with respect to maternity leave policy prior to passage of the FMLA and the view of the politicians, business leaders, and scholars mentioned in lines 1-2 can best be characterized by which of the following statements?

A. They agree that both the 1972 EEOC ruling on maternity-leave policy and the increasing feminization of the workplace had an impact on employers’ creation of maternity-leave programs but disagree about the relative importance of each factor.

B. They agree that the EEOC ruling on maternity-leave policy had an initial impact on employers' creation of maternity-leave programs but disagree over whether the Supreme Court's striking down of the EEOC ruling weakened that impact.

C. They agree that creating maternity-leave programs was a necessary response to the needs of the increasing number of women workers but disagree about whether maternity should be classified as a disabling medical condition.

D. They agree that employers created maternity-leave programs prior to passage of the FMLA but disagree about employers' motivations for doing so.

E. They agree that employers created maternity-leave programs prior to passage of the FMLA but disagree about how widespread those programs were.


There is lot of discussion going on between B and D, I chose D over B, although OA is B.
I find Option "B" wrong as it is clearly mentioned in the passage that "perhaps because the Supreme Court later struck down
the ruling, politicians and scholars have failed to
recognize its effects, assuming that employers adopted
maternity-leave policies in response to the growing
feminization of the workforce."

Hey guyzz, the last paragraph especially the last sentence clearly states that the answer choice is C.

Even when the policy is ruled down, its effects are still present as the politicians and the scholars fail to see the effects.

Thanks and regards,
Amit