'Idol' producers hit with lawsuit (NYT, THR)

By Nancy Tartaglione-Vialatte

A class-action suit has been brought against "American Idol" producer FremantleMedia North America by former employees alleging they were overworked and underpaid. The suit also claims Freemantle falsified time cards and denied meals and rest periods.

The three plaintiffs, whose suit is seeking class-action status for all employees who worked in various job classifications for Fremantle and its related production companies, include Melody Murray who is a former segment producer on "Osbournes: Reloaded" and who worked as a talent coordinator on "Thank God You're Here" and as an associate producer on "Janice Dickenson Modeling Agency."

Also involved in the suit is Aaron Silberman, a former music coordinator on "American Idol" and Rosemarie DiSalvo, a producer in 2007 on game show, "Temptation."

Related companies named in the suit include American Idol Productions, Blue Orbit Productions, Kickoff Productions and Little Pond Television, reports The New York Times.

"There's no Hollywood glamour for the below-the-line people who work on 'American Idol' and other reality shows who are grossly underpaid, worked 24/7 and receive no rest or meal breaks and no health coverage - contrary to California labor laws," said attorney for the current plaintiffs Jonathan Biddle, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"For each reality television series subject to this suit, defendants hired plaintiffs based on a flat weekly or daily pay rate," the suit reads. "Plaintiffs were required to falsify their time cards...worked in excess of 40 hours per week during virtually every week of their employment, but they never received any premium overtime play...plaintiffs were routinely denied appropriate meal and rest periods as required."

The current suit resembles two which were settled in January by three of the four major networks and several reality show production companies who paid $4 million in the face of allegations that the companies, which produced shows like "The Bachelor" and "Trading Spouses," violated wage and hour laws.