The League Against Cruel Sports is now acknowledging it dismissed an ethical vegan employee after he raised concerns over the organization’s pension plan.
The employee, Jordi Casamitjana, told Benefits Canada in 2018 he was upset when he discovered the defined contribution pension provided by his employer meant his contributions were being invested in companies that were misaligned with his ethical beliefs, such as pharmaceutical companies that test on animals. He felt he had a responsibility to share the information with co-workers.
Read: Vegan contests firing after alerting colleagues to pension’s problematic investments
“I had an obligation, considering my philosophical beliefs, to inform my colleagues. I had lots of colleagues who had the same concerns. The consequences of my informing them — I was dismissed,” Casamitjana told Benefits Canada in a 2018 interview.
While the League initially said these actions had no bearing on why Casamitjana was dismissed, it changed its tune after a British tribunal ruled ethical veganism to be a philosophical belief and that similar protections from job discrimination should apply to ethical vegans as it would to people who hold religious beliefs.
In a statement released on Twitter on Monday, the League said Casamitjana’s firing was indeed related to his actions regarding the pension and that the organization has now changed its default pension fund.
Read: Ethical veganism a philosophical belief, finds British tribunal in pension investment case
“The only reason for the dismissal of Mr. Casamitjana in 2018 was his communications to his colleagues in relation to our pension arrangements,” the statement said. “Having revisited the issue ,we now accept that Mr. Casamitjana did nothing wrong with such communications, which were motivated by his belief in ethical veganism.
“We are grateful to Mr. Casamitjana for having raised the issue of pensions to us, which allowed us to change our default pension fund to an ethical one closer to our values.”