Even Lady Gaga gets in trouble with the wage and hour laws! |

Lady Gaga got sued by her assistant Jennifer O’Neil for FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) violations! Even a Pop Diva can get sued for wage and hour laws. O’Neil stated that she was continuously on the clock attending to Lady Gaga’s needs, both at home and while she was on tour.

According to O’Neill, during 56 weeks of employment, she worked more than 7,000 hours of uncompensated overtime. That meant Lady Gaga owed O’Neill nearly $400,000 in back pay, an equal amount in liquidated damages, and the obligatory attorneys’ fees and costs.

Gaga testified for six hours in the case. Gaga stated in her deposition that O’Neill “knew exactly what she was getting into, and she knew there was no overtime.” Gaga further testified that O’Neill was “majorly unqualified” for the job, which was “essentially [given to her as] a favor.” Gaga stated that the job O’Neill had was filled with perks: “slept in Egyptian cotton sheets every night, in five-star hotels, on private planes, eating caviar, partying . . . all night, wearing [Gaga’s] clothes.” Gaga claimed that her employees work only eight hours a day. As she put it, “This job is a 9-to-5 job that is spaced out throughout the day.”

Unable to keep her composure during the deposition, Gaga called O’Neill a “f**king hood rat who is suing me for money that she didn’t earn.” “I’m quite wonderful to everybody that works for me,” Gaga added, and I am completely aghast [at] what a disgusting human being that [O’Neill has] become to sue me like this.”

The teachable moments of this story:

The law is what the law is. If an employee does not meet a statutory exemption, you are legally obligated to pay overtime.
Employers cannot “contract around” the FLSA. If an employee is not exempt, you have to pay that employee overtime―even if s/he agrees to some other arrangement.
It does not matter that the employee is unqualified or does a poor job or that the job is easy or even fun. If an employee works overtime you must pay it.
An employee who is required to remain on call on the employer’s premises is working while they are on call.
Break periods (typically 30 minutes or more) generally need not be compensated as working time if the employee is completely relieved from duty. The employee is not relieved from duty if they are required to perform any duties or if they are “engaged to wait.”
Retaliation is not an option! Calling a former employee names or defaming them for suing you may come back to haunt you if the employee later sues you.
The FLSA is highly technical and filled with exceptions and special rules. Ask your Human Resources Manager or lawyer to review your exempt classifications. Audit your pay practices regularly!