Robert Bird

History in the Making

Posted on by Robert Bird

Brexit: People Had Enough With Distant Bureaucrats Telling Them What To Do

One of my enduring interests is research and teaching related to values-driven business. I jumped at the opportunity to teach a law and ethics course in London this summer with 14 bright UConn undergraduates. Such a program is filled with experiential education – we visited the US Embassy, the UK Supreme Court, Lloyd’s of London, and the Royal Society for the Arts, among other places.

Little did I know that our summer course would take place right in the middle of one of the most important events of modern Europe – the vote on whether the fifth-largest economy in the world would leave the European Union. Continue Reading

Living Wage or Personal Dignity? A Choice Workers Should Never Have to Make

Posted on by Robert Bird

Recently, a company was ordered to pay $1.75 million to thousands of employees who had to clock out during bathroom breaks.

A living wage or personal dignity is choice that workers should never have to make. It is also an imposition that employers should never be able to place on anyone. The allegations made by the employees in this case were primed to go viral because of how this conduct shocks our conscience. While the practice is unjust and unfair, it also illuminates deeper implications about how a workplace is managed. Continue Reading