Obtaining personal documents/emails sent by me-subpoena?

[pittguy578]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA

I am in the process of filing a complaint with the EEOC re ADA violations.
I would need to get copies of the e-mails I sent to various managers within the department before I was terminated. Can I personally file a subpoena to obtain those records? I would strictly be looking for only the e-mails I sent to these parties. Any assistance is appreciated.

 

[Proserpina]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA

I am in the process of filing a complaint with the EEOC re ADA violations.
I would need to get copies of the e-mails I sent to various managers within the department before I was terminated. Can I personally file a subpoena to obtain those records? I would strictly be looking for only the e-mails I sent to these parties. Any assistance is appreciated.

Isn't the attorney working on it?

 

[swalsh411]

How would these emails help you? Why didn't you keep a copy? Contrary to popular opinion, it is not always possible to recover emails. If they were damaging enough, the company may have directed IT to delete them from the backup.

 

[ESteele]

Short answer, OP: No, you cannot. As an aggrieved employee alone, you do not have standing to serve a judicial or administrative subpoena or discovery request on the employer at this stage of your dispute.

Alternatively, you should advise the EEOC representatives of the e-mails you believe will help establish your ADA claim. The EEOC can send a request for production of documents (and, if necessary, a subpoena) for these e-mails in connection with the agency’s investigation of your discrimination charge. Work with the investigator assigned to make sure he or she requests said e-mails.

Additionally, do not inform anyone else that you do not have a copy of the e-mails in question. If the employer’s representatives think you have a copy of these documents, they will be less inclined to destroy them or otherwise refuse to produce them to the EEOC.

For anyone else who reads this thread and finds himself in an analogous dispute with his employer, you should seriously consider maintaining a separate, personal, stay at home file including, inter alia, a hard copy of all of the documents connected with your underlying dispute. Having only an electronic copy on your work computer can prove insufficient if (1) you are summarily terminated and/or (2) your computer crashes or is hacked.

 

[tranquility]

From a legal perspective, even if things got to a subpoena level, there are many possible defenses which would validly quash the subpoena. (Depending on what the OP is trying to prove.)

 

[pittguy578]

I had been in the hospital. My attorney is working the one side of it..the internal dispute resolution process which could go to a neutral arbitrator to decide the case in this instance-my company is one of those that has a mandatory arbitration clause. We had drafted the complaint and submitted it to the company. They have to do their own internal investigation which is being done by another office on the West Coast so they would not have any local biases. If the results of their investigation does not yield any acceptable answers then we will be taking it through the arbitration process. I am scheduled to meet with him again tomorrow.

I was handling the EEOC aspect of it as I didn't want to have to be double billed..I am currently on unemployment. I filed a complaint with them, and produced all of the documents I have. They said the claim was worthy of an interview for multiple potential violations on the part of my employer. I am waiting for them to get back to me to schedule the formal interview. They said they were just slightly backed up in the office (Pittsburgh).

Is there anything else I should be doing in this instance to help move the process along and protect myself?

 

[Hot Topic]

Ask your attorney. Don't be "penny wise and pound foolish."