In one recent example, she said, a company executive was being harassed through e-mail messages sent to his family, employees and investors that said he molested his children. In another, an employee set up a Web site claiming to be another employee and offering to have sex. In some cases the messages appear to come from white men who think they are being discriminated against by companies favoring women or minorities. On one site devoted to United Parcel Service , called the Brown Cafe, employees have complained about what they say is unfair treatment. United Parcel declined to comment.
Diversity training can also be fodder for outbursts.
When Lucent Technologies tried to make its employees more sensitive to gay colleagues, there was an outpouring. Lucent, which says it seeks to balance the right of its employees to express themselves with its other responsibilities, says it prohibits the sending of threatening or harassing messages. Employees and former employees are also using the Internet to make claims of sexual harassment. Some messages encourage people to come forward with similar tales. In the ensuing debate over whether he was lying, one person identified two other managers as examples of this behavior.