‘Lady Gaga owes me overtime,’ former assistant claims
Overtime issues affect employers of all stripes – as Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (a.k.a., Lady Gaga) recently found out.
Jennifer O’Neill, a former assistant to Lady Gaga, is suing the pop phenomenon for allegedly failing to cough up some $380,000 in OT payments to her.
O’Neil worked full-time for the singer for a fixed annual salary of $75,000 and alleges she was required to be available “24/7.” The former assistant claims that under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state law, she’s entitled to overtime compensation for working such extreme hours.
Normally, in overtime lawsuits involving assistants, employers will claim the assistant is exempt from OT under the “administrative exemption” under the FLSA. However, the employer must also be able to prove the assistant exercises “significant independent discretion and judgment.”
Some of the job duties that O’Neill described performing for Gaga included:
- reviewing credit card statements
- checking Gaga’s meals
- “ensuring the promptness of a towel following a shower,” and
- serving “as a personal alarm clock.”
- Share on
Free Training & Resources
Webinars
Provided by Yooz
Further Reading
Beware of auto pilot when issuing expense reimbursement checks to employees. Some, or all, of the money may technically be wages instead. ...
Ever-growing postage rates are driving companies to digitize as much as possible. A record-high rate hike set for July 14 is going to impac...
Employers participating in E-Verify can use an expanded report to identify current employees who may require Form I-9 reverification. Th...
New York employees will see their maximum annual Paid Family Leave (PFL) contribution rise to $451.81 in 2027, up from $411.91 in 2026. ...
The Department of Labor (DOL) has quietly issued a wage investigation policy change that could significantly reduce the financial impact of...
The higher overtime salary threshold that kicks in on July 1 will affect a million-plus salaried exempt employees. And it’s good news...
