From Valleywag:
A job listing sent recently to an email list: “A vegetarian-owned and managed emerging sports games startup in San Francisco is looking to hire vegetarian software development interns for summer 2008.” An odd qualification, but apparently legal. A recent court case in California found that employers can discriminate against vegetarians. That would imply that a startup could equally choose not to hire omnivorous sorts. One would think that the pool of candidates who simultaneously favor sports videogames and eschew meat products would be a bit shallow. The full job listing:
A vegetarian-owned and managed emerging sports games startup in San Francisco is looking to hire vegetarian software development interns for summer 2008 (and potentially beyond) who are interested in entrepreneurship and promoting vegetarianism. We were founded by experienced entrepreneurs and venture capitalists with a track record of success, and deep technical and business experience at top companies in the industry, such as Microsoft and Square Enix, as well as consulting experience at McKinsey. Our management team includes MIT-educated computer scientists and Wharton and INSEAD MBAs.
Interns will join an experienced team developing a new product that will redefine its segment in the sports gaming space.
Interns will have the opportunity to work with experienced entrepreneurs across many facets of a startup business. Roles include a breadth of responsibilities, including:
* Development in C++, high-performance network programming, and 3D graphics development
* User interface and game play design
* Unit and user testingThe successful candidate will be proficient in C or C++, creative, have a strong work ethic, and be an enthusiastic learner. This paid internship will provide significant development opportunities, as well as an opportunity to experience a broad range of roles in a startup company.
Please submit resumes and enquiries to
While the case cited had more to do with Ethical Vegetarianism being a recognized religion whereby accommodations should have been discussed, I guess their point is made.
Either way, they’ll still be bringing home the bacon.
(Thanks Scott!)
Re: the court ruling that companies can refuse to hire vegetarians: What about people who are vegetarian on doctor’s orders, for health reasons? This seems ridiculous.
The case you linked to is interesting reading. I can see both sides of the story.
The job ad though…that is a bit confusing to me. Who cares if your employees are vegitarian or not when that has absolutely nothing to do with the product/service offering? It just seems pretencious, ridiculous and brings no value to the company.
It’s hard to know without knowing more about the group. An organization like, say, PETA, would want to hire employees with a commitment to the group’s objectives, which include vegetarianism.
If the meat recalls keep coming, the pool of vegetarian candidates may enlarge.:-)
Onehealthpro
Interesting post. I’ve actually been considering becoming a vegetarian lately. Chicken would be the hardest thing for me to give up though.