Disabled school janitor made $15K a year less than his coworkers, family alleges

“We’re not vindictive,” said his brother, Michael Rooney, a retired Kearny firefighter who cast the family as reluctant litigants. “The Kearny School District adamantly denies any improprieties in connection with the employment of Mr. Paul Rooney,” wrote Kenneth Lindenfelser, the district’s lawyer. Efforts to reach the Kearny School Employees Association, which covers the district’s custodians, were unsuccessful. Attorney Eric Kleiner filed a lawsuit on behalf of Paul Rooney, a retired Kearny school custodian who has intellectual disabilities. Ian Peters | For NJ Advance MediaLast year, the Bloomfield School District paid a $150,000 settlement to a longtime custodian who charged he barely earned minimum wage, despite working there for 35 years.