News anchor suffers psychotic break after she was ‘bullied by her bosses’

An award-winning journalist claims she suffered a psychotic episode after being bullied by her bosses for asking for equal pay.

News12 morning anchor Annalisa Klebers, 42, filed a claim with the American Arbitration Association, alleging that the company retaliated against her after she asked for a raise.

Klebers, host of the morning shows for Altice USA’s News12 stations in Connecticut and New Jersey, said colleagues called her the “sunshine of the newsroom.”

However, the mother of three claimed that management started bullying her when she asked for an increase in her $71,000 salary after learning that other staffers were making more than her.

“As my stress increased, I took my concerns about my workload to my news director, and her solution was to keep me out of the daily 9 a.m. editorial meeting. I felt humiliated by this. I felt alienated from the rest of our news team,” Klebers told DailyMail.com.

‘I was insulted, humiliated and felt so belittled. I was extremely stressed, I lost sleep, I lost weight, I started having panic attacks… I felt like I was about to have a heart attack.”

Klebers was excluded from on-air promotions and commercials and subjected to more micromanagement that her male co-host Rick Holmes was not, the claim says.

‘Management started blaming me for technical errors, things over which I had no control. “I raised my concerns about errors in my male co-anchor’s scripts and graphics to management,” she said.

The mother of three claimed their treatment of her changed when she asked for a $71,000 raise in her salary after learning other staffers were making more than her.

“Instead of discussing this with my male co-anchor, management suggested that I correct my male co-anchor’s scripts and graphics for him.”

The claim alleged that Klebers’ Connecticut show was taken off the air, she was excluded from reporting and forced to work on reporter’s pieces – a task not included in the news anchor role – causing her workload to become so high that “she barely had a break to work.” eat on most days.”

‘There were days when I worked from four in the morning to five in the afternoon to complete all the extra work that was piled on me. “I was trying to make management happy and keep my job while my contract and raise were held over my head,” Klebers said.

‘There were disparaging comments made, managers made fun of me and criticized things about my performance that just didn’t make sense. They also ignored or downplayed my positive contributions to the shows. It felt like management wanted me to quit or react badly to everything they were doing to me.”

Klebers filed a formal complaint with Human Resources and ultimately decided to resign. However, Altice rejected her dismissal citing their investigation into the complaint.

“This sent me into a spiral,” Klebers said. ‘On Friday, May 13, 2022, stress and anxiety reached new levels. I became very ill and had a psychosis, which is a psychotic break. I was suicidal.’

Klebers was subsequently hospitalized after suffering a ‘reactive psychosis’ due to extreme stress and anxiety, which ultimately led to her spending six days in the psychiatric ward before committing suicide. While she was on medical leave, Altice fired her.

Her husband Erik told DailyMail.com: ‘What my wife and our family went through was just unbelievable. Our three children witnessed Annalisa having a psychotic episode. It’s probably one of the most traumatic things I’ve ever experienced.’

Klebers said she was excluded from on-air promotions and commercials and subjected to more micromanagement that her male co-host Rick Holmes was not.

Klebers was subsequently hospitalized after suffering ‘reactive psychosis’ and discharged while on medical leave

Kleber’s arbitration claim seeks recovery of wages and damages under the Equal Pay Act and Title VII.

“What Altice/News12 did here to Annalisa was completely out of line legally and simply unconscionable from a moral perspective,” her lawyer Anthony Mango told DailyMail.com.

“She has suffered serious losses as a result and we intend to vigorously pursue her claims to obtain justice for her and ‘right this wrong.’

Klebers decided to share her story to raise awareness and hopes no one else has to experience what she did.

“I am extremely grateful for all the support I have received from my colleagues, viewers, family and community. “I’m focused on my recovery and on my children and making sure they’re okay after going through all of this,” she said.

“Most importantly, I want to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else. A person should not end up in the hospital as a result of the way management treats an employee. What was done to me should be criminal.”

News12 told DailyMail.com that Klebers was not fired but chose not to extend her leave or return to the workplace.

“These claims are completely baseless, they were made a year ago and we will continue to vigorously defend against them,” the news channel said.

“At News 12, we are committed to providing an inclusive and equitable workplace, and the well-being of our employees is a top priority. We take matters that are important to our employees seriously and thoroughly investigate all issues raised, ensuring a fair and thoughtful process.

“We are committed to maintaining a safe and supportive work environment, including a strict no-retaliation policy to protect our employees.”

For help and support, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on 988