This is an important point that people defending the author need to consider. I agree that hiring is a two-way negotiation. Flexibility is great. But there is a significant moral (and legal!) hazard when you let some people skip the code test because they have an amazing Github and others get rejected for not passing the screen. You're filtering out everyone who isn't privileged with the free time to build up an amazing portfolio. People will argue that this disproportionately hurts minorities, women, and lower income people.