She was the “sunshine” of her workplace — till she requested for equal pay.
A News12 anchor claims her easy declare for fairness resulted in such harsh blowback from her community that she had a psychotic break and ended up on suicide watch.
Annalisa Klebers, an award-winning journalist who anchored the morning information for Altice USA-owned News12 stations in Connecticut and New Jersey, mentioned the sudden change in her boss’ demeanor got here after she requested a few new contract with higher pay than the $71,000 she’d been getting.
What resulted, she claims, was months of being “gaslit” by supervisors, excluded from conferences, and having extra and demeaning work piled on her — together with fixing her co-anchor’s typos.
“What administration did to me modified my life without end. I nearly misplaced my life. My kids got here very near nearly shedding their mom,” she advised The Submit. “I felt like my complete world was caving in.”
Klebers, a 42-year-old mom of three, was employed in April 2018.
Her supervisors praised her intelligence and work ethic, calling her the “sunshine of the newsroom,” in line with a declare filed with the American Arbitration Affiliation and obtained by The Submit.
In the course of the pandemic, she was often one in all simply two individuals within the constructing, chargeable for the whole lot from her personal work to “ensuring the cameras, lights, and teleprompter had been working” and overlaying then-Gov. Cuomo’s day by day information conferences, in line with the declare.
The efforts earned her but extra reward and a $4,200 bonus.
However co-workers had been getting double that quantity, she discovered. And when she voiced issues to her managers, the solar started to set on her profession on the station, Klebers contended in papers.
“I felt humiliated,” she mentioned. “I used to be being alienated from the remainder of the information workforce. Administration started blaming technical difficulties on me that I had no management over.
“I did the whole lot managers requested of me and extra,” she added. “This all whereas my contract and pay increase had been being held over my head. It felt like administration needed me to give up or react poorly to the issues they had been doing to me.”
She was minimize out of a promotional commercial that includes storm protection she helmed — whereas a male colleague who referred to as out that day was edited into the footage, she claimed.
Klebers put in a proper criticism however then in the end determined to resign.
Nonetheless, Altice refused to just accept her departure, ostensibly as a result of the corporate claimed it was required to research her criticism.
“All of it despatched me right into a spiral,” she mentioned. “It was an excessive amount of.”
“On Friday, Might 13, 2022, I grew to become very unwell,” Klebers mentioned. “I had a psychotic break. I used to be suicidal. This all occurred in entrance of my husband and kids and even my sister.”
Her husband Erik mentioned “she grew to become nearly catatonic, staring into house, transferring round the home inexplicably.”
She stored attempting to seize her automotive keys and heading to the storage, Erik Klebers mentioned, which docs later confirmed was her try at suicide.
She spent six days within the psych ward on suicide watch. She was later fired by Altice whereas out on incapacity.
“Her profession was utterly derailed, such to the purpose that she doesn’t see any avenue again to an anchor desk, not at News12 or any media, any newsroom anyplace,” mentioned her lawyer, Anthony Mango. “This was caused by her simply making in good religion, elevating a difficulty for the equal pay. “It’s actually rendered her disabled.”
Klebers desires the American Arbitration Affiliation to award her the revenue she would have made as an anchor.
She selected to go public as a result of “this can not occur to a different particular person, lady or man, that works in a company setting. It needs to be prison.”
An Altice USA spokesperson mentioned, “Information 12 prides itself on offering an inclusive and equitable office the place workers can thrive and are compensated based mostly on their expertise, contributions, and advantage; any gender discrimination claims are solely baseless, and we’ll defend towards them vigorously.”
If you’re battling suicidal ideas or are experiencing a psychological well being disaster and reside in New York Metropolis, you’ll be able to name 1-888-NYC-WELL free of charge and confidential disaster counseling. In case you reside exterior the 5 boroughs, you’ll be able to dial the 24/7 Nationwide Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
Supply hyperlink
