This happened several years ago.
I work in an industry that has various sides to it and depending which side the work you must be specially licensed. In the side of the industry I work everyone knows each other either personally or by reputation so it's important to remain on good terms with everyone because you don't know who you could be working with or for tomorrow. It's also worth noting clients are very relationship driven and tend to follow the people if they leave.
I was recruited by a family owned company I knew well. They weren't strong on my side of the industry, but had a great reputation in all other aspects and they were looking to build business on my side. I was hired to help restructure our side of the house to make it competitive in our market. It was an exciting opportunity and I'd been very successful in doing the same with other organizations.
Over a two year period there had been gossip about how I got my job (female hired by a former male colleague at another company), multiple documented outreaches to HR for support in addressing it ( HR and the employee starting the gossip were good friends) bonuses not being paid and sexual harassment that was ignored. I was struggling to make progress in restructuring the department as each time I made a change Mr. gossip who I later found out thought he should have my job, was complaining to everyone and stalling every change in tried to make.
Then an employee retired and Mr Gossip left and I was able to hire replacements. Everything appeared great on the surface until I realized my great new hire was constantly in my bosses office in private meetings. The next thing I know my boss is pulling me in saying we need to restructure my responsibilities and a team meeting is held to announce it. In the meeting my boss states I have too much on my plate and alludes that I may harm myself – I'm in utter shock and everyone is checking in to see if I'm ok. A good portion of my responsibilities are moved to an unqualified male on the other side of the house. I went to the owner and was told the changes was implementing were too aggressive. This is the person that told me from day 1 to make aggressive changes and get us competitive with the big boys..
After this meeting things only get worse. I find out HR never did a background check or check references on my new hire and when I start asking around my industry I find out she's basically been blackballed for unethical practices from every other company – things you don't learn from a resume or an interview. She's getting tighter and tighter with HR, my boss and the male that took most of my job and is making my life hell. I can't accomplish anything I was hired to do and frankly I'm over it .
By this point I've been scouted by another company and accept, taking a 30% pay increase, fully remote with a company that doesn't tolerate drama. I give my notice and file a complaint with the EEOC for retaliation, sexual harassment, and several other reasons, as I fall into several protected classes. After I'm gone two other employees do the same.
Not long after I left almost every other person on my team followed me out the door. I'm great at my job and I'd developed great relationships with the majority of the team. I heard not long ago they had been losing most of the business my side ran and several of the best salespeople on the other side of the house walked out, taking their teams and clients with them, basically decimating the company. They can't hire good talent since as word has gotten and the industry what occurred there and no one wants to walk into that. So they sold the company, what was left of it.