I gave my notice at work. I have e-mails from my boss where he makes fun of coworkers. Is it illegal to send?

I have a slimeball boss, who in the past has sent demeaning e-mails making fun of overweight coworkers, calling others the "land of misfits", and one where he offered to pay me to lie and fill out an employee survey with positive remarks that would rank our company as a best place to work. I've had enough, and found a new job. My 2 week notice ends Friday. My question is, is it illegal to forward those e-mails from my work e-mail to home e-mail? I know that I should report him to HR, but given it is a small company and my bosses relationship with HR I have little faith that anything would be done. I do not want to dwell on the e-mails, as I am beyond excited to move on, but I want to keep a record of them. I've printed copies, but am I being over paranoid to keep an electronic copy and is it illegal to send them from my work e-mail to home e-mail? Another guy I work with quit too, and has even worse e-mails. I'd appreciate any thoughts on what to do. Thank you!

I gave my notice at work. I have e-mails from my boss where he makes fun of coworkers. Is it illegal to send?
save the emails


when u quit show it to other people working there


eventually he'll get fired


but if i was u


i would just stay quit


u dont know these type of people


i dont wanna get shot
Reply:I wouldnt show people, just HR. You may really upset the co workers. A lot of them could quit and really leave the company hanging.





Remember, you don't hate your company you hate your boss!!
Reply:report him to HR. they will explain to him that his behavior is inappropriate. you will do the company and him a favor in the long run. most HR depts. will keep the source of complaint confidential. bravo to you for having an ethical conscience!
Reply:It is not illegal to forward the emails home. However, it may be against company policy and it could be blocked by company servers or at minimum tracked. You can download them to a memory stick without detection if so desired.





I would not forward the emails to anyone. There is no sense burning bridges. You have NO IDEA who you may be working with in the future (5, 10, 15 years down the road). Burning bridges could really hurt you later in life. The feel good moment of today is not worth it.
Reply:Email them to the entire company, and to his boss. The worst they could do is fire you... oh thats right :)
Reply:Remember that anything you send to, or receive from anyone can essentially become a legal document and introduced to court. The fact that your boss sent them is his issue. If you forward them to yourself and leave, and then use the documents in any way, you have just used company property for personal gain. This is a classic set up for a lawsuit.





Go to HR. Let them know why you have resigned, present them with the evidence. Ask your former coworker to do the same. Unless the HR is uninformed, or the company has something to hide, they will want to protect themselves from further action, and should take action.





By the way, what you describe is potentially legally harassment. Taken right from the EEOC website:





Offensive conduct may include, but is not limited to, offensive jokes, slurs, epithets or name calling, physical assaults or threats, intimidation, ridicule or mockery, insults or put-downs, offensive objects or pictures, and interference with work performance. Harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including, but not limited to, the following:





The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, an agent of the employer, a co-worker, or a non-employee.


The victim does not have to be the person harassed, but can be anyone affected by the offensive conduct.


Unlawful harassment may occur without economic injury to, or discharge of, the victim.
Reply:yes it is illegal.... it is called internet harrassment and you should go to hr, and a lawyer. kids can be expelled from school and sent off for things like that, imagine how an adult can be punished.
Reply:No, it's not illegal to send at all. In fact, you can email them to everyone in the office if you wanted to.