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 — 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 and potential threats of violence.
“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 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 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 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. “The practices identified by the NLRB in its complaint against Delirium are ubiquitous in this space.”
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