CW: Discrimination
For 35 years, Paul Rooney walked the same six blocks to Schuyler Elementary School in Kearny, New Jersey. There, he swept floors, cleaned bathrooms, picked up pizza boxes, and kept classrooms organized. His job gave him purpose and routine.
Rooney has intellectual disabilities due to a childhood head injury and epilepsy. He took pride in his work and the relationships he built with students and staff. He retired in 2025 believing he had done everything right.
Only later did he and his family find out he earned about $15,000 a year less than other custodians doing the same work. A lawsuit filed on his behalf estimates he lost more than $200,000 in wages and pension earnings over his career. His brother Michael, who helped him prepare for retirement, was shocked when he saw the numbers and even more shocked when school officials did not explain. The district denies any wrongdoing and says it will present its case in court, but the family argues that Rooney was quietly underpaid for decades.
The claims against the district highlight a long and complex history of disabled workers being treated as exceptions to basic labor rights. When the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed in 1938, it included Section 14(c), which allowed employers to pay disabled employees less than minimum wage based on the belief that their disabilities made them less productive.
For decades, this system pushed disabled people into sheltered workshops and low-wage jobs, where they earned far less than their non-disabled peers, sometimes just pennies an hour. Although criticism of this practice as discriminatory and outdated has increased, it persisted for generations and influenced public attitudes about the value of disabled labor.
Some states have moved to end subminimum wages entirely. New Jersey officially banned the practice on July 1, 2024. However, many states still permit employers to pay disabled workers less than minimum wage under 14(c).
Thousands of employees remain in programs that operate under this exemption. States like Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina continue to allow subminimum wages. This results in a patchwork of protections where a disabled employee’s rights and pay can differ greatly depending on their location. Rooney himself was not paid under 14(c), but the legacy of that system fostered a culture where unequal pay for disabled workers could be ignored or justified.
According to the lawsuit, Rooney was placed on an individual contract that capped his salary at $45,000, even though custodians in the district are unionized. He was asked to sign documents he couldn’t fully understand, because he reads at an elementary school level. Union dues were taken from his paycheck, even though he apparently wasn’t represented by the union.
His brother describes him as eager to please, someone who never caused trouble and never faced discipline. In other words, he was the kind of employee who would never think to question whether he was treated fairly.
Advocates for disabled people say cases like this are less common today due to stronger protections and better support systems. However, they acknowledge that unequal treatment can still go unreported because families fear retaliation or don’t know where to seek help.
Rooney’s lawyer, who previously represented another New Jersey custodian with intellectual disabilities in a similar case, believes many families are quietly dealing with the same issues. Legal action is costly and emotionally taxing, especially against public institutions. Therefore, many people choose to endure the unfairness rather than confront it.
Rooney’s story prompts a necessary conversation about how we value disabled employees. He showed up every day for 35 years. He did the work expected of him. He contributed to his community. Yet if the allegations are true, he was never paid fairly. This serves as a reminder that discrimination doesn’t always look like exclusion. Sometimes it appears as inclusion with a quiet footnote — a job that offers camaraderie and purpose but lacks the pay or protections others receive.
His family says they aren’t seeking revenge, only fairness. They hope that by bringing this case forward, they can stop others from being overlooked or underpaid simply because of their disabilities. In this way, Rooney’s story becomes about more than one man’s paycheck. It becomes a call to examine the systems that still allow disabled employees to be treated as if they are less deserving, whether through outdated laws, inadequate oversight, or unchallenged assumptions that have persisted for decades.
Sources:
Degnan, Joanne. “US DOL Withdraws Proposed Rule to Ban Subminimum Wage for Disabled.” New Jersey Business & Industry Association, New Jersey Business & Industry Association, 8 July 2025, njbia.org/us-dol-withdraws-proposed-rule-to-ban-subminimum-wage-for-disabled/.
Kaye, Danielle. “U.S. Moves to End a Minimum Wage Waiver for Disabled Workers.” The New York Times, The New York Times Company, 3 Dec. 2024, http://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/03/business/economy/labor-disability-pay.html.
Marokey Sawo, et al. “It’s Legal for Some Employers to Pay Disabled Workers Less than the Minimum Wage. Ending This Practice Is Just a First Step toward Supporting Their Economic Stability.” Urban Institute, 14 Jan. 2025, http://www.urban.org/urban-wire/its-legal-some-employers-pay-disabled-workers-less-minimum-wage-ending-practice-just.
Yates, Riley. “He Spent 35 Years as a School Janitor, Lawsuit Says. Why Was He Paid Less than His Coworkers?” NJ.com, Advance Media, 29 Jan. 2026, http://www.nj.com/hudson/2026/01/disabled-school-janitor-made-15k-a-year-less-than-his-coworkers-family-alleges.html?outputType=amp.