Companies that offer "employer sponsored insurance" (ESI) pay a portion of employees` health care costs. In the manufacturing sector last year, companies that offered ESI had worker absentee rates 22% lower, on average, than those at companies that did not offer ESI.
If, on the basis of the evidence above, it is argued that ESI decreases worker absenteeism, which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken that argument?
Absenteeism :- Practice of regularly staying away from work or school without good reason.
Argument: Companies that provide (ESI) had worker absentee rates 22% lower than those at companies that did not offer ESI. So (ESI) causes that effect.
Conclusion :- existence of the ESI plan caused the decrease in worker absenteeism
Weaken :- existence of the ESI plan not caused the decrease in worker absenteeism
We can weaken the argument if we find another cause for the effect.
Answer D says that many companies have improved workplace safety and decreased the occurrence of on-the-job injuries, so the improvement in workplace safety decreased the job injures and lowered the worker absentee rate.
It's true that the answer also says that those companies introduced ESI at the same time , so that was not the cause for the effect.