Meat Eaters Need Not Apply

Employment Beef: A California maker of video games is seeking talented interns, but there’s a proviso: They must swear off meat and embrace the vegetarian lifestyle. The company, Bigfoot Inc. of San Francisco, posted the following job requirements in an e-mail 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.”

Technical skills, by the way, appear equally pivotal for landing the job: “The 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.”

Sounds like a great gig for the right person—providing he/she eschews meat-eating habits.

Although the request initially sounds discriminatory, there is legal precedent, albeit in reverse. In 2000, contingent computer contractor Jerry Friedman sued Southern California Permanente Medical Group for firing him based on his personal convictions as a vegan. Friedman had been hired as an independent computer contractor, but the offer was rescinded after he refused to accept a mumps vaccination, citing ethical and religious beliefs. (The vaccine for mumps is grown in chicken embryos.) The court subsequently ruled that veganism is not a religious creed.