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Lady Gaga avoids trial; settles pay dispute with former assistant

Posted at 12:14 PM, Oct 29, 2013
and last updated 2013-10-29 14:14:12-04

By Alan Duke

(CNN) — Lady Gaga reached an out-of-court settlement with her former assistant who sued for unpaid overtime, according to a court filing.

Details of the deal were not revealed in a document filed in court last week asking the clerk to close the case.

The lawsuit, which sought $350,000 in back pay from the singer, had been set for trial in New York starting next week. U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe ruled last month against Gaga’s lawyer’s request that the case be dismissed.

In her lawsuit, Jennifer O’Neill says that she worked “24/7” as Gaga’s personal assistant.

O’Neill was employed in early 2009, and again from February 2010 to March 2011. After she was rehired, she was told her annual salary would be $75,000.

“Every day is a work day for her, so every day is a work day for the rest of us,” O’Neill said, according to court documents.

“There is no, we’re going to stay in, we’re going to sleep. There is no, let’s put on sweatpants and go out to the movies and be girlfriends. It doesn’t work like that.”

Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, testified that O’Neill “deserves every one of her $75,000 that we agreed to. But she does not deserve a penny more.”

CNN’s Carolyn Sung, Rachel Wells and Susan Candiotti contributed this report.

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