Indiana fans of pop recording star Lady Gaga may have heard that the singer and her touring company have recently settled a claim alleging unpaid wages that had been brought by her former personal assistant. The woman’s claim that the defendants were omitting overtime wages in the amount of $379,000 alleged that the singer and Mermaid Touring paid her $75,000 in 2010, but that the amount did not include thousands of overtime hours the assistant claimed she worked from 2009 to 2011.
No details of the settlement were revealed except for the assistant being barred from bringing any further action against the defendants for this allegation. For her part, Lady Gaga said in a deposition that she had done the woman a “favor” by hiring her for a position for which she was “unqualified”. She added that overtime was not feasible during tours. The plaintiff had claimed in her complaint that she was required to perform a variety of personal tasks for the singer including serving as a “personal alarm clock” to ensure the singer kept on schedule.
During the same deposition, the singer said that she treated everyone who worked for her quite well and was surprised that the woman would have even considered litigation, citing the various luxury perks and other benefits that she received as part of her employment.
Omitting overtime pay may be a violation of state or federal law. An attorney with experience in employment law matters may be able to help clients who have been paid less than they are owed, not paid on time or who have other unpaid wage claims.
Source: Courthouse News, “Settlement Heads Off Trial Against Gaga on Overtime”, Jamie Ross, October 22, 2013