Jennifer O’Neil, longtime friend of pop star Lady Gaga, is claiming that after a year of serving as a personal assistant to the pop star, she has cheated her out of overtime wages.
In a 2011 lawsuit, O’Neil is claiming that the “Applause” singer left her with no personal time and that she was on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
While both sides have agreed that O’Neil was aware that she was expected to be available when needed throughout all hours of the day, District Judge Paul Gardephe ruled that O’Neill’s on-call time potentially qualifies as overtime compensation.
When first hired, O’Neil was paid an annual rate of $50,000 and then $75,000 the second time by Gaga, who is estimated in a list published by Forbes magazine to have earned $80 million for the first six months of this year.
A trial is set for November 4th.