Reality show Jon & Kate get investigated by state agency
Last Updated: Saturday, May 30, 2009 | 10:35 AM ET
CBC News
Pennsylvania's Labour Department is investigating the reality show Jon & Kate Plus 8 amid concerns about the welfare of the eight children featured in the show.
The series centres on Jon and Kate Gosselin who are raising eight-year-old twins and five-year-old sextuplets.
Labour Department spokesman Justin Fleming told The Associated Press that the agency received a complaint against the show, now in its fifth season, and that the department is compelled to investigate it.
He would not divulge who filed the complaint.
The Gosselins have been under increasing scrutiny after allegations emerged that the parents have cheated on each other.
All about the ratings: sister-in-law
In addition, Kate's brother and sister-in-law have levelled accusations against the couple, saying the pair is exploiting their children for financial gain. The Gosselins reportedly get paid tens of thousands of dollars per episode.
"Unfortunately, I think it has come down to all about the ratings," sister-in-law Jodi Kreider told CBS's The Early Show.
"And no one is looking at these children as what they are going through and the life consequences they are going to have as they get older."
Kreider said the children have told her they don't like the cameras.
TLC, which broadcasts the show, says it "fully complies" with state laws and regulations.
"For an extended period of time, we have been engaged in co-operative discussions and supplied all requested information to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor," said TLC spokeswoman Laurie Goldberg.
Labour officials have to decide whether state laws concerning TV productions govern reality shows. The question is, does the Gosselin home qualify as a TV set or is it a home where the kids are just living their lives, with the occasional intrusion of cameras?
Laws governing fictional film and TV productions require that children spend no longer than eight hours a day and 44 hours a week on a set, as long as their education, health and general welfare are taken care of.
With files from The Associated Press
