Available throughout each hour of the day

A onetime roommate and friend of Lady Gaga (listed in the litigation under her birth name – Stefani Germanotta) is claiming that she was cheated out of her overtime wages after serving as the pop star's personal assistant for more than a year.

The judge, U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe said both sides agree she was expected to be available as needed throughout each hour of each day. Gardephe ruled that Jennifer O'Neill's “on-call” time potentially qualifies for overtime compensation.

Gardephe noted that lawyers said Lady Gaga and O'Neill frequently slept in the same bed while on tour because O'Neill was required to address Lady Gaga‘s needs throughout the night, and thus never had her own hotel room.

“Every day is a work day for her, so every day is a work day for the rest of us,” she said. “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,” O'Neill said.

“You don't get a schedule”

In her deposition testimony, Lady Gaga had testified: “You don't get a schedule. You don't get a schedule that is like you punch in and you can play … at your desk for four hours and then you punch out at the end of the day. This is when I need you, you're available.”

O'Neill testified she was responsible for sometimes monitoring the singer's email and telephone communications and for handling all her luggage – generally 20 bags – including clothing, accessories, makeup and toiletries. She was also responsible for making sure that “special food” was available at every location and for Gaga's schedule.

She said she assisted with costume changes during performances and was responsible afterwards for arranging ice packs, tea and a shower, along with dinner and an exit from the venue.

The judge noted that the women met after Lady Gaga moved into O'Neill's apartment building on the Lower East Side of Manhattan before 2008, when they became roommates and friends. O'Neill was offered a position as her personal assistant because they were friends and she had experience in the music industry, court papers said.

As with all cases, it will be up to a jury to decide whether Gaga's demands left Jennifer O'Neill any personal time or whether she was on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as she is claiming.