Lady Gaga Sued by Ex-Personal Assistant for Unpaid Overtime Wages, She Settles

Lady Gaga avoided a trial scheduled to begin next month by settling a lawsuit out of court brought by a former personal assistant seeking unpaid overtime wages.

Her former personal assistant, Jennifer O'Neill filed a lawsuit against her. O'Neill had claimed the 27-year-old Poker Face singer cheated her out of overtime wages when she worked for her for a few weeks in early 2009 and for 13 months beginning in February 2010.

O'Neill, 41, had testified she was responsible for sometimes monitoring the singer's communications and for handling about 20 bags of luggage. Court papers revealed that Lady Gaga and O'Neill were roommates and friends on the Lower East Side of Manhattan before 2008.

O'Neill had said that she was paid at a flat rate of about $50,000 annually when she was first hired and $75,000 annually the second time by the pop singer.

It was estimated in a list published by Forbes magazine that Lady Gaga has earned $80 million in the first six months of this year.

Gardephe had ordered the case to proceed to trial, saying O'Neill's 'on-call' time potentially qualifies for overtime compensation. O'Neill's lawsuit said she was on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Gaga had dismissed Jennifer's lawsuit in in a video-taped deposition from August last year in New York, saying: '[Jennifer is a] f***ing hood rat who is suing me for money that she didn't earn. 'She thinks she's just like the queen of the universe. And, you know what, she didn't want to be a slave to one, because in my work and what I do, I'm the queen of the universe every day. 'She knew there was no overtime, and I never paid her overtime the first time I hired her, so why would she be paid overtime the second time? This whole case is b******* and you know it.'

O'Neill claimed in court documents that she was not given breaks for meals 'or, at times, even sleep,' and needed to be available at the star's 'earliest waking hour' or for 'spontaneous, random matters in the middle of the night,' according to the court papers.

O’Neill also had to ensure 'the availability of chosen outfits'. Gaga is, of course, famous for her eccentric wardrobe and once wore a meat dress to MTV Video Music Awards.

She filed the lawsuit in Manhattan federal court in December against the superstar’s Mermaid Touring company for unpaid overtime.