Conference 7.286::digital

	If some other company was moving your roomate do you think they
	would help you move? I doubt it. There is no difference between 
	that case and this one. You're agreement regarding your living 
	where you do now is between your landlord and you. Digital has
	no business getting involved there. Likewise, if the house was
	being bought by someone else would you feel that Digital owed you?
	Of course, Digital is not buying the house anyway. A company that
	Digital does business with does the actual buying. Digital is not
	your new landlord.

	Do I think Digital owes you something in this case? No. They are
	not asking you to move. You are moving on your own. The house is
	for sale, you don't want to move? Buy it. 

	BTW, is Digital forcing your roommate to move? If not than its
	their fault not Digital's that they're moving and the house is
	for sale.

			Alfred

    
    Ref: 1053.1 by Alfred Thompson
    
    Your response is technically correct.
    
    However, $200 to move again appears to be a significant amount of money
    for this individual, which perhaps is not readily at hand.  And this
    person is presumably a full-time Digital employee.  Thus, is there not
    some ethical obligation as preached by this corporation TO ASSIST in
    some creative way in helping this employee relocate, and not just say,
    "Hey, that's YOUR personal problem and you're on your own."
    
    Is there not a place for compassion within Digital in how we treat our
    own employees?
    
    
    

    Look, the real beef is with the "roommate", who is actually
    a landlord (as the owner of the condo).  I can understand why
    one might rather blame a big company than a friend, but the
    trouble is coming from that person's decision to move.  Was
    there no lease?  Was there no discussion of moving-out conditions
    and how long in advance notice would be given?  Whose fault is
    that?  This is the kind of thing which friends _have_ to get
    settled beforehand if they want to avoid bad situations and
    hard feelings.
    
    The company is not involved at all in this.
    
    			-John Bishop

    RE: .3
    
         I fully agree.  The problem is not caused by Digital, it is caused
    by the roommate/landlord deciding to relocate.  Any assistance should
    come from them or nobody.
    
                                     Greg

    
    When a landlord sells a rental property to a new landlord, and the new
    landlord, for whatever reason, wants the tenant to leave, does not the
    new landlord have some ethical obligation to provide some monies to
    compensate for relocation expense to the tenant who is being asked to
    move?  I submit that "ethically" the answer is yes.
    

    re .5
    It's the old landlord who MAY have the ethical problem, not the new
    one.  Friends may be involved, but these are basically business
    dealings.  And yes, it can be perceived as unfair or that the best
    decisions were not made by all parties.  If Gail had signed a long-term
    rental agreement, then the new landlord may have had to buy her out --
    perhaps solving her move problem.

	RE: .2 I have compassion for the author of .0. I really do. At the
	same time I don't see any justification for making Digital pay to
	move her. As others have said, if there is a lease than that spells
	out all kinds of things including responsibility in the event the
	house is sold. If there is no lease than I would argue that the
	landlord may very well have some moral obligation to help. I know I
	would feel some. It's not Digital's fault this happened. It's the
	landlords. The landlord has the most to gain (financially) from
	this whole thing why aren't they being asked to help?

			Alfred

    Thank you for the input. It's difficult to see all sides when you
    are involved. My landlord/roomie is not a friend, so that is not
    an issue. The short agreement that I signed was filled with
    stipulations about my half of the bargain, ie: month-month agreement
    one months notice. In essence I am getting that one month notice
    back at me. In consideration of what has been discussed, I'll have
    to agree that legally neither Digital nor the roommate "owes" me
    anything. After discussing it with the roommate, she has decided
    to forgo my rent for the month of April, this is some form of
    acceptable compensation. I am trying to believe that 4 months ago
    (when I moved in) that she was not contemplating moving. But that
    issue has nothing to do with this note.
    
    I still think that Digital could shoulder some responsibility,
    considering they probably agreed to move her household, and I'm
    part of it! ;^)   Oh well guess I'll just try to get some free boxes.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Gail

	I've got a sofa-bed you can crash on Gail.. :-)

							mike

    I am happy for you that your landlord decided to waive the 
    April rent - you're quite lucky, really, because as I've read
    through the other replies it looks like nobody owes you anything.
    
    As for Digital offering any assistance, if you got in a jam you
    could try the "Employee Assistance Program".  I have a friend here
    who arranged for some cash during a desperate time - in the form
    of a loan.  There is also the method of getting an advance on your
    paycheck, but I think that is only if you are taking vacation time
    and want your pay up front.
    
    Try to get a long term lease from your next landlord (unless YOU
    plan to move in a few months).
    
    Bye,
         -Jill-

    Personally, I think this is one of those DEC culture things that is not
    being taken into account.
    
    I agree that legally, MAYBE even ethically, there are no obligations or
    committments in this situation.  However, I question how many companies
    HAVE problems like this.
    
    When I want to sell something, I do it in the Notesfile or one of the
    local newsletters.  When I want to buy something, I go to Notesfiles
    for advice.  I have found MANY sources of new and used items this way. 
    When I was looking for apartments and/or roomates, again I went to the
    Notesfiles.  I have had two Deccie roomates, both of which worked (are
    working) out well.  I have NEVER nor would I EVER advertise for a
    roomate, or give out my address to some stranger.  But I have little
    problem doing this with a Deccie.  In all the other jobs and companies
    I have worked for I have only had one other roomate, who was a
    coworker.
    
    My point is that we do things DIFFERENTLY here at DEC.  We depend on
    the resources, like the Enet and Notesfiles that we have available. 
    How many people in DEC have or have had DEC roomates?  How does that
    compare to other companies?  Not well, I imagine.
    
    Ok, fine.  Having access to the net is a perk that we are free to use
    or ignore.  But in a sense, DEC put it there, and all the broo-ha-ha
    lately about our liability, etc. comes from the way we use those
    Notesfiles.
    
    I'm not saying DEC has any responsibility here - its not my province to
    determine.  But I think it certainly bears thinking about.
    
    Gail, best of luck.  If I hadn't already taken in a roomate to help out
    in time of need, then I'd at least offer.
    
    Jim (who feels, in these troubled times, that "there, but for the grace
    of God...")
    

    I think I am usually a proponent of the employee, and have fought 
    numerous battles for employee rights for people that I thought were
    getting the proverbial shaft.
    
    I must say in this case, Digital owes the employee absolutely nothing.
    To suggest that we do is ridiculous. I was an apartment dweller and a
    comdominium dweller for a good number of years in my professional life.
    
    I've been moved (or chose to move) all over the country, from East
    coast to West coast and numerous cities in between. When I was single
    and had roommates, I always tried to keep my roommates informed of any
    potential/impending moves. Never once did I feel that I should
    compensate my roommate because I decided to move, and I most certainly
    did not ever feel that the company I worked for owed my roommate
    anything. 
    
    This is part of life. It may seem "unfair" or create some financial
    hardship for you, but it's not anything that the company owes you
    for. I feel sorry for you in your position, but can't see how the
    company has any liability to bail you out.
    
    
    /se