“Love is Blind” faces a new challenge to its labor practices.

On December 11, 2024, the Minnesota Regional Office of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed suit against the hit Netflix reality TV show for misclassifying series contestants as participants when they should be considered employees. Classifying the contestants as employees would give them federal legal protections, including the right to form a union.

The complaint against Love is Blind's production companies, Kinetic Content and Delirium TV, LLC, also alleges that the show “committed several labor violations, including illegal contractual provisions regarding confidentiality and non-compete clauses,” as reported by the New York Times It stated.

The NLRB complaint is a major development in the challenges that reality TV shows that follow couples who fall in love and marry “in secret” have faced behind the scenes. The allegations range from “inhumane working conditions” and “unfair wages” to “intentional infliction of emotional distress. Kinetic and Delirium have steadily denied the accusations and defended their methods over the past few years as “Love is Blind” has grown in popularity to the point of becoming a common cultural phenomenon.

The NLRB began investigating Kinetic and Delirium's production standards after two former Love is Blind cast members (Renee Posh of season 5 and Nick Thompson of season 2) filed complaints with the Labor Board.

In addition to Love is Blind's legal battle, the complaint is also a pivotal turning point in the ongoing “reality reckoning.” Former cast members of franchises from The Real Housewives to Vanderpump Rules have spoken out against the lack of labor protections for both reality TV personalities and the underlings who work primarily as freelance workers.

As for next steps, according to the New York Times, “Complaints are filed after the local office of the Labor Commissioner concludes that the charges made against the employer have merit. The case then goes before an administrative law judge who determines whether the employer has violated the law. The employer may appeal the decision to the National Labor Relations Board in Washington.

At the time of publication of this article, neither production has issued a statement in response to the complaint. This article will be updated to reflect their responses as soon as they are released.

Netflix (which distributes the program but is not named in the complaint) has also not yet responded.

Season 8 of “Love is Blind” is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on February 14, 2025.