Award-winning journalist Annalisa Klebers, a former morning news anchor for News12 in Connecticut and New Jersey, has made disturbing allegations against her former network. Ms Klebers claims that after requesting better pay and equity, she faced severe backlash from her employer, which ultimately led to a psychotic break and a stint on suicide watch. Klebers, who was earning $71,000 at the time, had asked about a new contract with improved compensation. However, she alleges that this simple request was met with a sudden and drastic change in her boss's behaviour, triggering a downward spiral that severely impacted her mental health.
"What management did to me changed my life forever. I almost lost my life. My children came very close to almost losing their mother. I felt like my whole world was caving in," she told The New York Post.
According to Ms Klebers, the situation escalated into a prolonged period of workplace mistreatment. She alleges that her supervisors engaged in gaslighting tactics, intentionally making her question her own perceptions and sanity. Additionally, Klebers claims she was excluded from important meetings and subjected to an increasingly heavy and demeaning workload. She recalls that one particularly humiliating task was being forced to correct her co-anchor's typos.
Ms Klebers, a 42-year-old mother of three, had a promising start at News 12 when she was hired in April 2018. Her supervisors praised her intelligence, and work ethic, and even called her the "sunshine of the newsroom".During the pandemic, Klebers took on a massive responsibility, often being one of only two people in the building. She handled everything from her own work to ensuring the cameras, lights, and teleprompter were working, and even covered then-Gov. Cuomo's daily news conferences. Her efforts earned her a $4,200 bonus and more praise from her supervisors.
However, she soon discovered that her coworkers were receiving significantly higher bonuses, with some getting double the amount she received. When she expressed her concerns to her managers, she alleges that her career at the station began to take a downturn, as detailed in her claims.
"I felt humiliated. I was being alienated from the rest of the news team. Management began blaming technical difficulties on me that I had no control over. I did everything managers asked of me and more,” she added. “This all while my contract and pay raise were being held over my head. It felt like management wanted me to quit or react poorly to the things they were doing to me," she said.
After filing a formal complaint, Ms Klebers decided to resign from her position. However, Altice USA-owned News12 station refused to accept her resignation. The company claimed that it was obligated to investigate her complaint, effectively putting her resignation on hold.
"It all sent me into a spiral. It was too much. On Friday, May 13, 2022, I became very ill. I had a psychotic break. I was suicidal. This all happened in front of my husband and children and even my sister," Ms Klebers said. Her husband Erik said, "she became almost catatonic, staring into space, moving around the house inexplicably."
According to her husband, she attempted to grab her car keys and head to the garage, which doctors later confirmed was a suicide attempt. As a result, she spent six days in the psychiatric ward on suicide watch. Her struggles continued even after her hospitalizstion, as Altice USA terminated her employment while she was out on disability.
An Altice USA spokesperson said, "News 12 prides itself on providing an inclusive and equitable workplace where employees can thrive and are compensated based on their skills, contributions, and merit; any gender discrimination claims are entirely baseless, and we will defend against them vigorously."
