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PORTSIDE CULTURE

LOVE IS BLIND JUST GOT HIT WITH A FEDERAL LABOR COMPLAINT. WILL IT
CHANGE ANYTHING?  
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Li Zhou
December 14, 2024
Vox
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_ Love Is Blind just got hit with a federal labor complaint. Will it
change anything? It sends an important message, but may not translate
to an immediate fix. _

Atmosphere at a watch party and celebration for Love Is Blind: The
Live Reunion held on April 16, 2023, at the Vermont Hollywood in Los
Angeles. , John Salangsang/Variety/Getty Images

 

Li Zhou [[link removed]] is a politics reporter
at Vox, where she covers Congress and elections. Previously, she was a
tech policy reporter at Politico and an editorial fellow at the
Atlantic.

_____

In a first for the reality television industry, the National Labor
Relations Board (NLRB) argued on Wednesday that contestants on
Netflix’s dating show _Love Is Blind_ should be classified as
employees [[link removed]] — a designation
that would give them significantly more on-set protections, including
the ability to unionize.

The filing by the NLRB’s regional office in Minneapolis comes after
two of the show’s former contestants — Renee Poche and Nick
Thompson — levied complaints with the Board, alleging unfair labor
practices. Those complaints coincided with lawsuits filed by Poche and
another former contestant, Tran Dang, both of whom raised worries
about their physical safety on the program.

The filing is the start of a long process, and doesn’t immediately
mean that _Love Is Blind_ contestants have to be classified as
employees. Depending on what happens in the new Trump administration,
it’s also likely they may not attain that classification in the near
term.

That’s because the NLRB’s statement is only an initial complaint
against the two production companies — Kinetic Content and Delirium
TV — that run the show, and multiple things still have to happen
before that statement becomes policy. First, the companies have the
option to reach a settlement with the NLRB. If they’re unable to, an
administrative court will review the claims of labor violations next
spring. Then, any decisions that are made could be subject to a series
of appeals.

President-elect Donald Trump’s ascent to the White House also adds
uncertainty. As president, Trump will be able to name his own picks to
key NLRB roles, including officials who could push for a favorable
settlement for the companies, or drop the case. Kinetic Content (which
oversees Delirium TV) and Netflix did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.

That the NLRB has put forth the complaint is still notable, and
spotlights important questions about how reality television
contestants are treated, however. _Love Is Blind_, which has become
highly popular on Netflix since it debuted in 2000, is far from the
only reality TV show that’s seen contestants navigate alleged
abusive working conditions
[[link removed]] and
potential threats of violence
[[link removed]].

“If you look at some of their individual contracts, they’re pretty
shocking,” Day Krolik, an adjunct law professor at New York
University and former director of labor relations at NBC, told Vox, of
reality show agreements broadly. “Some of them say the individual
can expect to not have food for a protracted period of time … that
you may be subject to what many would consider sexual harassment. You
know, you agree to all this.”

This would set an industrywide precedent if it became policy

A key aspect of the complaint deals with how the production companies
of_ Love Is Blind_ classify the contestants on the show. Currently,
they’re participants, and not employees, which means productions
aren’t subject to an array of legal requirements around wages, paid
leave, or insurance. Notably, the contestants also aren’t able to
unionize and don’t have protections under the National Labor
Relations Act, which establishes the right to a union.

The issue of worker classification has been contested in other
industries, too, including at gig economy companies like Uber and
Lyft. As independent contractors, for instance, Lyft and Uber drivers
are unable to unionize
[[link removed]] and
don’t have workplace safety protections, both gaps that have been
points of contention.

If _Love Is Blind_ contestants were considered employees, they’d
be able to unionize and be able to receive crucial labor protections
on multiple fronts.

“If they are considered employees then the employer may have to
follow many other laws that cover employees: workers’ compensation,
unemployment insurance, discrimination laws, OSHA, tax laws,” says
Cathy Creighton, director of Cornell University’s Industrial and
Labor Relations Buffalo Co-Lab.

Notably, too, that shift in classification could set a widespread
precedent for the entire reality TV industry. The NLRB would evaluate
each show on a case-by-case basis, experts tell Vox, but having
another show be subject to a filing like this sets a legal standard
that could be applied to others as well.

“I think this would set a precedent that workers in similar
situations should be covered employees under the National Labor
Relations Act,” Laura Padin, director of work structures at the
National Employment Law Project, told Vox.

Other parts of the NLRB filing take aim at common practices that
reality shows are known to use, finding that _Love Is Blind_’s
confidentiality agreements, non-compete clauses, and pay-or-stay
requirements are also unlawful. Under these agreements, contestants
are muzzled about many of their experiences on the show for a certain
period of time, and had previously been threatened with a fine of
$50,000 if they chose to leave the show early.

The filing is unlikely to translate to policy just yet

The NLRB’s complaint is the beginning of a lengthy process to change
how production companies treat the contestants on _Love Is Blind_.

One of two things will happen next.

The filing could be settled by the NLRB and the companies involved:
This would involve negotiations between the NLRB and the production
companies to try to find terms that both could agree to. If they’re
unable to find such an agreement, the complaint will be evaluated by
an administrative judge, who will hear arguments from both parties in
April. Any decision made by that judge can then be appealed, including
to the national board and then federal court.

Adding uncertainty into these proceedings is the fact that Trump is
widely expected to fire
[[link removed]] the
current NLRB general counsel, who is integral to overseeing these
cases. A Trump general counsel could decide that they want to reach a
quick settlement with the production companies or even drop the case.
Trump is also set to fill the two open seats on the NLRB
[[link removed]] with
Republican members, giving the panel a GOP majority that’s set to
take a more pro-business direction and rule favorably for companies if
they have to consider an appeal.

As such, it’s not likely a reclassification of _Love Is
Blind_ contestants, or those of other reality shows, will happen in
the near term.

Despite this, though, the NLRB announcement brings additional
awareness to issues that have plagued the reality TV industry for
years and could encourage other complaints, regardless of what happens
with the _Love Is Blind_ filing.

This “could change the reality TV industry forever,” Bryan
Freedman, Poche’s attorney, told CNN
[[link removed]].
“The practices identified by the NLRB in its complaint against
Delirium are ubiquitous in this space.”

* love is blind
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* NLRB
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* Employment
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* employees
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* entertainment industry
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* reality television
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* worker classification
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* non-competes
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