‘Bachelor’ Producer Sued Over Production Assistants’ Meal Breaks
A former production assistant on ABC’s “The Bachelor” has filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that he did not get adequate meal breaks.
Connor Eckert, a production assistant from September 2014 to October 2016, alleges that NZK Productions — the company behind the long-running reality series — violated California labor laws. The suit alleges that P.A.’s were not afforded 30-minute meal breaks and paid rest periods, and NZK did not provide accurate wage statements. The suit seeks class status on behalf of all of the company’s production assistants in California.
NZK did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Wage-and-hour suits are not uncommon in the reality TV world, where workers tend to be non-union. In 2009, several networks and reality show producers agreed to a $4 million class action settlement. Fremantle Media, the producer of “American Idol,” was subsequently sued on similar grounds, as was 495 Productions, the company behind “Jersey Shore.”
The Writers Guild of America, West, has long campaigned against producers, accusing them of denying meal breaks to non-union reality show writers.
California has some of the strictest labor laws in the country, making it a prime target for plaintiffs’ attorneys in other industries as well.
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