Capt. Paul Hrebenak filed a lawsuit against the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department last year after he alleges the department transferred him to another department against his wishes after he took leave to help his husband with their newborn son. Hrebenak’s lawsuit claims this violated the U.S. Family and Medical Leave Act, a similar D.C. family leave law, and the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause by refusing to allow him to return to his job after the leave, and moving him to a far less desirable position.
Hrebenak’s position in the School Safety Division was in part granted due to his Crohn’s Disease, which can be exacerbated by working late nights. The position he was moved to, Watch Commander of the department’s First District, would not allow for regular day shifts. In a 26-page motion to dismiss filed by the D.C. Office Of the Attorney General states:
“The Watch Commander position is not alleged to have changed plaintiff’s rank of captain or his benefits or pay, and thus plaintiff has not plausibly alleged that he was put in a non-equivalent position. Thus, his reassignment is not a demotion, and the fact that his shift changed does not mean that the position is not equivalent to his prior position. The law does not require that every single aspect of the positions be the same.”
The motion to dismiss was denied by a US District Court Judge.
