By Lucy Carmel, THELAW.TV
Lady Gaga, whose legal name is Stefani Germanotta, made a media
splash from a lawsuit brought on by her former personal assistant, Jennifer
O'Neill, who alleged that the pop star owes her overtime for her
round-the-clock work from early 2009 until March 2011. O'Neill is suing for
$393,000, which includes 7,168 hours of unpaid overtime plus damages. Her
salary was $75,000 per year.
Lawsuits between A-listers and their assistants and overtime
disputes outside the entertainment industry are far from unusual.
In another recent overtime case that
didn't generate the media attention of Gaga's legal woes, the Washington
Supreme Court ruled that about 1,200 registered nurses at a Washington hospital
were due overtime pay for time they worked during 15-minute rest breaks
mandated by a collective bargaining agreement. Under state law, the court
determined that the passed breaks extended the workweek beyond 40 hours and
triggered overtime requirements.
According to most recent data published by the U.S. Department of Labor,
more than 197,000 employees received a total of $140.2 million in minimum wage
and overtime back wages in 2008 as a result of Fair Labor Standards Act, or
FLSA, violations.
So, is GaGa's ex- aide entitled to overtime pay as the registered
nurses in Washington were?
"Overtime laws distinguish between exempt and nonexempt
employees," says Frank Clark, Esq., Partner of Clark & Krevsky, LLC,
an employment law firm in Lemoyne, Pa.
"It's the nonexempt employees who actually get the protections of
the overtime laws."
Clark explains that classifications for exempt and nonexempt
workers are based on salary, position, tasks and responsibilities.
Exempt employees who are not entitled to overtime pay as mandated
by law meet one of three criteria — they are paid on a salary rather than an
hourly basis; they earn at least $455 per week, and they are paid full salary
for any workweek, regardless of how much time they work.
"And oftentimes, but not always, managers will be exempt from the
overtime laws," says Clark.
Other characteristics of exempt employees include managing the
enterprise or a recognized department or subdivision, conducting key business
operations, or supervising employees and having significant influence over
hiring decisions.
Unlike
exempt employees, nonexempt employees who work over forty hours in a week are
entitled to overtime wages.
Clark
also points out that laws can be tricky, and employee classifications aren't
always so simple.
O'Neill had a salary of $75,000 per year. According to the
Huffington Post, her duties included keeping Gaga on schedule, presenting a
towel after showers, and unpacking her boss' suitcases.
Were
such duties key business operations, causing her to be classified as exempt
from overtime laws? It's up to the court to decide.
