Turning A Blind Eye To Workplace Abuse...

The "horrifying" saga of a participant in a Neflix reality show, Love Is Blind, highlights the problem with Non-Disclosure Agreements.

Photo by Kristina Flour on Unsplash

Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) began as a way to protect proprietary information like business plans and client lists, and trade secrets like the recipe for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

However, NDAs have expanded exponentially in recent years and are typically accompanied by the requirement that employment disputes be settled in secret arbitration proceedings rather than in court.

It is estimated a third of all workers sign NDAs, which often are buried in fine print in a stack of papers that employees must sign on their first day on the job.

The saga of a contestant on a Netflix reality show highlights the problems with NDAs when it comes to workplace abuse.

Rigorous Checks?

Love is Blind, a Netflix show produced by Delirium TV of Los Angeles, allegedly promised that all participants would be screened through a “rigorous background check process, psychological examinations and compatibility assessment.”

Participants on the show, which now spans six seasons, become acquainted by conversing behind a wall and only meet face-to-face after becoming engaged. Then they take a vacation together to Mexico and return to their respective hometowns to plan their wedding.

Renee Poche, a veterinarian from Texas, was invited to participate in the show in 2022 and agreed. But, alas, the course of true love did not run smoothly for her. Poche filed a lawsuit alleging:

“Little did Poche know that she would be matched with a walking red flag… who was unemployed, with a negative balance in his bank account, homeless, violent, estranged from his family and actively addicted to drugs and alcohol.”

Poche says she was “utterly terrified to be around him” but Delirium offered her no support when she said she didn’t feel safe.

The lawsuit alleges a camera operator in Mexico quit after Poche’s TV fiancé - a 6’5” former football player turned construction worker - physically threatened him. Moreover, she says production staff told her to ensure that he “had no access to firearms or other weapons because they were concerned he would hurt himself, her or others.”  

Poche says she felt stuck because Delirium threatened to sue her if she discontinued her participation in the program or refused to move forward with her engagement. She says she began to “spiral physically, mentally, and emotionally.”

To make a long story short, Poche signed an NDA that barred her from speaking publicly about her experience on the show. After Poche made “limited public remarks about her horrifying experience,” Delirium initiated arbitration proceedings against her for violating the NDA.

Delirium is seeking $4 million in damages from Poche, who earned $8,000 from the show.

Bloomberg Law reports that Poche recently asked Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Bruce G. Iwasaki to throw out the NDA and permit a public trial in her case. However, Judge Iwasaki refused, ruling the “clear and unmistakable language” in Poche’s NDA requires the dispute to be resolved through arbitration.

So Delirium’s $4 million claim will be decided by an arbitrator behind closed doors.

Do future contestants deserve to know the potential risks of appearing on the show?

Since the #MeToo movement raised awareness of the problems of sexual harassment in the workplace, there has been a movement to limit the scope of NDAs.

Restricting NDAs

New Jersey, New York, California and Washington all have passed laws that restrict the use of nondisclosure agreements in cases involving workplace abuse.

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