Would you "cc" Human Resources on this?

I work at a branch office and got my first annual review yesterday. Our HR department is in another state. I have the opportunity to provide "comments" on my review, which I intend to do because I feel I have strong backup to support a higher rating in a couple of categories. I plan to submit it to my boss via e-mail...is it OK to copy our HR contact on that? He's not terribly involved in the day-to-day operations at the branch, but he is our HR guy and I want to make sure he's aware of it and that it goes into my file? My boss is OK, but I don't completely trust him to pass my comments along to them, and I worry that he will not pursue an adjustment because he takes the easy way out in most cases if it would keep him from looking bad.

cc HR. It is a sad fact, but cc'ing people leaves a trail and protects your back - a fact that you need to use in the modern workplace. It's good that you can respond to a performance review - usually they are very one sided and arbitrary, reflecting little about the work being done or the employee. I hated being evaluated and I hated having to do the evaluations - if you get a bad boss, no one can tell.

Most bosses will do whatever action makes them look good. They do not want to rock to boat, and if they need to damage you to keep afloat - they will. Regardless of fairness etc.

Protect yourself.

I don't see why not.

You could always bcc (blind carbon copy) them if you don't want your boss to know that you copied them on it.