On December 11, 2024, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued a complaint demanding that Netflix’s hit reality television show Love Is Blind reclassify its participants as employees, who are afforded more robust federal and State legal protections and must be paid an hourly wage, including overtime. The complaint also outlines provisions in the show’s participants’ contracts that the NLRB deems unlawful, including noncompete and confidentiality clauses.
The NLRB’s complaint is the latest development in a long saga between Love Is Blind and the show’s participants, which began in June 2022, when former participant Jeremy Hartwell sued Netflix and the show’s casting companies for “inhumane working conditions” and underpaying contestants pursuant to California law. Specifically, Hartwell alleged that the companies underfed participants, forced them to work as many as 20 hours per day, and underpaid participants by paying them $1,000 per week instead of an hourly wage. Based on the number of hours the defendants forced participants to work, Hartwell’s attorneys claimed that participants were paid roughly $7.00 per hour, less than half of California’s $16.00 minimum wage (set to increase to $16.50 on January 1, 2025). Hartwell’s class action lawsuit has since settled for $1.4 million.
In early 2024, two other Love Is Blind participants submitted complaints to the NLRB accusing the show’s producers of misclassifying participants, claiming that they should have been considered employees and paid an hourly wage. As a result, the NLRB investigated the policies and practices of the production companies behind the shows— “Kinetic Content” and “Delirium TV”—and determined the participants’ claims had merit.
Tellingly, the NLRB only issues complaints after one of its regional offices (here, the NLRB’s regional office in Minnesota issued the complaint, which is where participants of Love Is Blind’s next season are from) determines that there is merit to accusations made against an employer. NLRB complaints are then litigated before an administrative law judge who is tasked with determining whether an employer—here, the show’s production companies—violated the law. Notably, by demanding that the show reclassify its participants as employees, the complaint opens the door for Love Is Blind participants to unionize and could have a dramatic impact on the rights afforded to participants on all reality television shows.
Individuals who believe that they have been misclassified or have not been paid correctly under federal and/or State law should seek legal counsel to analyze their potential claims.