I’m adding to my reply on the basis of the additional information that you have supplied.
You should try my initial suggestions (above) in the hope that this situation can be resolved amicably. But the treatment that you are receiving from your colleagues suggests that the situation might prove difficult to correct on your own.
When colleagues begin targeting as you describe, it is called “mobbing”— numerous colleagues ganging up on a co-worker. This is toxic behavior and can be difficult to control. From your account of high turnover in your workplace, it appears that your colleagues probably have been successful in harassing others in the past, and have used this approach with impunity.
The following suggestions are informed by “Mobbed!” by Janice Harper, the best book that I’ve read on the subject of mobbing. (Available online; you’ll likely recognize your situation if you read it.)
1)Remain outwardly calm, cheerful and cooperative. Document your colleagues’ behavior toward you with off-site contemporaneous notes.
2)Because you are a POC in a largely white company, you potentially have a legal case that your company is creating or tolerating a hostile work environment. This is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
3)If circumstances continue to deteriorate, a reasonable course of action might be to consult an experienced, plaintiff-side (ie represents employees) employment lawyer. If you take this course, find the best, toughest plaintiff’s employment lawyer available, not a general practice firm. The first consult should be free. Note: if other POCs in your company are also being harassed, a class action suit potentially could be brought. Lawyers love class action suits.
4)Bringing a discrimination lawsuit against a company usually results in a financial settlement subject to a non-disclosure agreement, with your lawyer taking 30% or 40% of the settlement as a fee. Except in the case of a class action suit (which results in company-wide policy changes), the complaining employee usually leaves the company after the settlement is received. Alternatively, if you aren’t looking for a financial settlement, you’d be responsible for the lawyer’s time and expenses. The latter may be a reasonable course of action if the situation can be resolved simply, e.g. by the attorney writing a warning letter to the company about how you are being treated.
5)You will likely be required to exhaust all administrative remedies (formal complaint to HR, HR investigation, company’s remediation attempt, etc.) before a lawsuit can be brought. Best to initiate this process under your own lawyer’s guidance, so that you make no missteps.
6)All of the above can be exhausting, but you are fortunate in one respect: the conduct that you are experiencing is illegal because you are a POC. Title VII suits can be brought only on the basis of discrimination based on race, religion, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation. (Age discrimination is also illegal, but is not covered under Title VII; penalties for age discrimination are less severe.)
7)It’s unclear to me whether or not you can resolve this situation without the help of an attorney, because it seems that the company has tolerated the behavior of your colleagues in the past. But it’s reasonable to try to defuse the situation informally before bringing legal action.
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