In a landmark move for reality television, the National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint Wednesday against Love Is Blind in which it argued that the show’s contestants should be classified as employees.

This marks a major milestone for reality television as it could give the Netflix show’s contestants the opportunity to unionize.

According to The New York Times, the complaint claims the show committed several labor violations against contestants and details the unlawful contractual provisions contestants are forced under, including that they cannot give interviews or make media appearances for up to one year after the final episode airs. Former contestants Renee Poche and Nick Thompson filed complaints with the NLRB.

The complaint accuses Delirium TV and Kinetic Content, the production companies behind the Netflix show, of “unlawfully” classifying cast members as “participants,” per USA Today.

Decider has reached out for comment.

Bryan Freedman, who represents Poche in her lawsuit against the show, said in a statement, “Cast members are stripped of fundamental rights, gagged from speaking out, denied legal recourse, paid virtually nothing, subjected to the ever-present threat of ruinous liquidated damages and prevented from working elsewhere. These practices must stop,” per The New York Times.

Love is Blind, which recently aired its seventh season, challenges 30 singles to date each other without meeting face-to-face until they are ready to become engaged. Those who agree to walk down the aisle together also get more screen time as the show follows them in their new lives together.

The hit series has been hit with several lawsuits from former contestants who claim they were subjected to “inhumane working conditions.”

Poche, who competed in Season 5, filed a lawsuit in early 2024 claiming the show’s producers forced her to marry an abusive man who struggled with substance abuse. She alleged that the producers threatened to take legal action if she did not get engaged to him.

She then decided to speak out about her negative experience with Delirium TV, which the company claims violated her NDA. Delirium TV demanded $4 million from Poche, though she was only paid $8,000 for starring on the show.

In another lawsuit, Season 5 contestant Tran Dang claims she was sexually assaulted by her former fiancé Thomas Smith while filming. She also accused the producers of “false imprisonment.”

Series creator Chris Coelen later shut down the accusations in an interview with Variety, calling the accusations “insulting” and “disrespectful.”

“I urge all potential participants to always prioritize their own well-being, above being on TV, or participating in this experiment, no matter how great the upside might potentially be,” he said, adding that producers are “really transparent about the details of what participating in Love Is Blind entails.” 

The NLRB’s complaint aims to make the production companies pay the contests back any wages lost by agreeing to these provisions.