I've been working at this retail job for about 9 months and it's always been high drama, but recently it's gone of the charts.
We have incompetent management and two of my coworkers have been making formal complaints about the way things are (not) done at the store, and calling out one particular manager and one salesperson. Earlier this week, one of the complainers was fired for a pretty simple administrative error that management turned into a “stealing” accusation. HR told her that they can see that another employee actually made the error, but that is an at-will state so they can for her for it anyway.
The other complainer was accused this week of making a racist remark and she is suspended. There are witnesses vouching for her that she did not say the thing, and the accuser is a known and recorded liar. She is in the process of obtaining counsel, and has made it clear that she will not talk to the company without a lawyer. She has mentioned retaliation.
My question is about me, though. I've made a complaint similar to theirs, but only once. They're known to be outside of work friends of mine. I'm walking on eggshells and don't want to talk to my direct managers without witnesses and recordings. I'm afraid I'll be targeted next. What should I do? Do I tell them I'm afraid of retaliation? Won't that make it worse? I just don't know how to act until I find a new job. Any advice is appreciated.