By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-29 18:56:27 | Updated at 2025-01-01 17:37:11
2 days ago
An award-winning journalist claims she suffered a psychotic break after she was bullied by her bosses for asking for equal pay.
News12 morning anchor Annalisa Klebers, 42, filed a claim with the American Arbitration Association arguing the company retaliated against her after she asked for a raise.
Klebers, who hosted the morning programing for Altice USA-owned News12 stations in Connecticut and New Jersey, said colleagues called her the 'sunshine of the newsroom.'
However, the mother-of-three claimed management started bullying her when she asked for an increase to her $71,000 salary after she learned other staffers were making more than her.
'As my stress increased, I brought my workload concerns to my news director, to which her solution was to ice me out from the 9 a.m. daily editorial staff meeting. I felt humiliated by this. I was being alienated from the rest of our news team,' Klebers told DailyMail.com.
'I was offended, humiliated and felt so belittled. I was extremely stressed, I lost sleep, I lost weight, I was having panic attacks... I felt like I was about to have a heart attack.'
Klebers was cut out of on-air promotions and commercials and subjected to increased micromanagement that her male co-anchor Rick Holmes was not, according to the claim.
'Management began blaming technical errors on me, things I had no control over. I brought up show concerns regarding errors in my male co-anchor's scripts and graphics to management,' she said.
News12 morning anchor Annalisa Klebers (pictured) said she suffered a psychotic break after she was bullied by her bosses for asking for equal pay
The mother-of-three claimed their treatment of her changed when she asked for an increase to her $71,000 salary after she learned other staffers were making more than her
'Instead of addressing this with my male co-anchor, management suggested that I should correct my male co-anchor scripts and graphics for him.'
The claim alleged Klebers' Connecticut show was cut from air, she was excluded from coverage and forced to work on reporter pieces - a duty not included in the role of news anchor - which increased her workload so much that 'she barely had a break to eat on most days.'
'There were days I would work from 4 a.m. until 5 p.m. to try and complete all of the additional work that was piled on to me. I was trying to make management happy and keep my job all while my contract and pay raise were being held over my head,' Klebers said.
'There were belittling comments made, managers gaslighting me and criticizing things about my performance that just didn't make sense. They also ignored or put down my positive contributions to the shows. It felt like management wanted me to quit or react poorly to all the thing that they were doing to me.'
Klebers filed a formal complaint with Human Resources, then ultimately decided to resign. However, Altice rejected her resignation citing their investigation into the complaint.
'This sent me into a spiral,' Klebers said. 'On Friday, May 13, 2022, the stress and anxiety reached new levels. I became very ill and suffered psychosis, which is a psychotic break. I was suicidal.'
Klebers was then hospitalized after suffering a 'reactive psychosis' due to extreme stress and anxiety ultimately resulting in her spending six days in the psych ward on suicide watch. While she was on medical leave, Altice fired her.
Her husband Erik told DailyMail.com, 'What my wife went through and our family went through, was just unbelievable. Our three kids witnessed Annalisa having a psychotic break. It's probably one of the most traumatic things I've ever gone through.'
Klebers said she was cut out of on-air promotions and commercials and subjected to increased micromanagement that her male co-anchor Rick Holmes was not
Klebers was then hospitalized after suffering a 'reactive psychosis' and was fired while she was out on medical leave
Klebers arbitration claim seeks back pay and damages under the Equal Pay Act and Title VII.
'What Altice/News12 did to Annalisa here was completely out of bounds from a legal standpoint and simply unconscionable from a moral perspective,' her attorney Anthony Mango told DailyMail.com.
'She has suffered serious loss as a result and we intend to pursue her claims vigorously to obtain justice for her and to "right this wrong."'
Klebers decided to share her story to raise awareness and hopes that no other person has to experience what she did.
'I'm extremely grateful for all of the support I've been getting from my colleagues, viewers, family and community. I'm focused on my recovery and my children, and making sure they are okay after going through all of this,' she said.
'Most importantly, I would like to make sure that this doesn't happen to anyone else. A person should not end up in the hospital as a result of how management treats an employee. What was done to me should be criminal.'
News12 told DailyMail.com Klebers was not fired, but chose not to extend her leave of absence or to return to the workplace.
'These claims are entirely baseless, were filed a year ago, and we will continue to defend against them vigorously,' the news outlet said.
'At News 12, we are committed to providing an inclusive and equitable workplace, and the wellbeing of our employees is a top priority. We take matters important to our employees seriously and thoroughly investigate all concerns that are raised, ensuring a fair and thoughtful process.
'We are firmly committed to maintaining a safe and supportive work environment, which includes a strict non-retaliation policy to protect our employees.'
For help and support call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on 988
