“Blind Love” contestants classified as employees by the National Labor Council

In a new complaint filed Wednesday, the National Labor Review Board said contestants on the Netflix reality series “Love Is Blind” they should be classified as employees.

The complaint, filed by the board’s Minnesota regional office, says the show committed numerous labor law violations, including contracts that illegally included non-compete clauses and confidentiality requirements.

Netflix representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

If the ruling stands, it has implications for reality TV as an industry, given that reality shows feature people who often engage in real acts with potentially lifelong consequences. For example, “Love Is Blind” contestants can end up engaged and even married to each other.

Indeed, the series has faced multiple allegations of wrongdoing. Former cast members complained that they were isolated, their mental health issues were ignored and they were given too much alcohol.

Renee Poche, a season five contestant, filed a lawsuit earlier this year against Delirium TV, the show’s production company, and Netflix, saying she “didn’t feel safe” and was set up with a “violent” alcoholic and drug addict.

In a statement provided to TheWrap, Poche’s attorney Bryan Freedman said, “Mark Geragos and I, along with our legal teams, have been working closely with the NLRB for over a year, and we are pleased that this collaboration has resulted in a monumental filing. that promises to change the reality TV industry forever. The practices identified by the NLRB in the Delirium complaint are pervasive in this space. Make no mistake, reality reckoning is alive and well. This is not the last shoe to drop. Waiting.”

And former contestant Tran Dang filed a lawsuit in 2023 in which she said she was sexually assaulted on May 3, 2022 by another contestant and was “forcefully groped” and that the assailant repeatedly assaulted her over her objections.

In response to the lawsuit, the show’s producers said in a statement at the time: “”We document the independent choices of adults who volunteer to participate in a social experiment. Their journey is not scripted, nor is it filmed non-stop. We have no knowledge or control over what happens in the private living spaces when they are not filming, and participants can choose to end their trip at any time.”

Neither the show’s producers nor Netflix have responded to the NLRB’s filing.

While the ruling could have a significant impact, it may not matter. Early Wednesday, Sens. Joe Manchin and Kirsten Sinema, both former Democrats known for betraying their party at critical moments and both now registered independents, were the deciding votes. to prevent Democrats from blocking a majority on the NLRB board before Trump took office.

As a result, Trump will be able to call the tie-breaking vote in the council. It remains to be seen how things will play out, but even if his nominee to lead the Department of Labor is surprisingly union friendlybased on literally every public statement he has ever made, as well as his record as president from 2017-2021, Trump’s NLRB representative is unlikely to sustain the complaint.