The New York Post recently release excerpts from a testimony in which singer Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, denied that she owed her former personal assistant overtime wages for 7,000 hours of time and attendance. Jennifer O'Neill was the singer's PA between 2009 and 2011.

During that tenure, O'Neill alleges she worked around 7,168 hours that went unpaid, the source adds. If the court finds that Lady Gaga is responsible for that employee attendance, she is being asked to pay more than $393,000 in back wages plus damages. However, the singer did not seem inclined to fork over any additional funds given that she says she hired O'Neill practically as a favor and paid her a generous salary of $75,000 per year that did not include additional compensation for overtime.  

Whether or not Gaga is held responsible for paying her personal assistant the back wages depends on how the position is classified, reports Employer Legal Advocate. Some administrative positions are exempt from overtime requirements as outlined in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) if they meet specific criteria. For instance, qualifying positions must regularly exercise discretion and independent judgment.

In this case, O'Neill might be considered exempt if she was allowed to make important decisions, the source points out. But if she was simply carrying out prescribed orders, she might be owed pay for working overtime.

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