I think he's saying that it is an issue of merit, in the sense that he considers it a negative indication of the judgment of an applicant. Hostile work environ

I think he's saying that it is an issue of merit, in the sense that he considers it a negative indication of the judgment of an applicant. Hostile work environment? Meh. Sure maybe somebody could bring a suit, maybe they could even have a chance at winning if he was beating people on the head with it every day. But I doubt many startup execs would worry about it to the point they would let it censor their behavior.