Gay police captain was demoted for taking leave to care for newborn, DC lawsuit says
A Washington, D.C., police captain has filed a federal lawsuit against the city’s police department, saying he was demoted after a new supervisor had an issue with him taking family leave as a gay man.
Capt. Paul Hrebenak was the director of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department’s School Safety Division when he took leave in 2023 to care for his newborn baby, the lawsuit filed Dec. 31 says.
It’s a prestigious position, as the division is in charge of all school resource officers in D.C., Hrebenak told McClatchy News in an interview on Jan. 17.
After he returned from leave, Hrebenak was transferred to a “less desirable” watch commander position in a new division — a move that “was humiliating and viewed as punishment and a demotion by (him) and his co-workers,” the complaint says.
He was then required to work midnight shifts, after having worked a daytime shift when he led the department’s School Safety Division, according to the lawsuit.
He said the watch commander position is typically filled by newer captains with less seniority. He still holds the title of captain, he explained.
“It really has been humiliating and almost feels like career ending,” Hrebenak, who has worked for the department for 18 years, said.
The Metropolitan Police Department is accused of retaliating against him because of his sexual orientation and treating him differently compared to “straight officers.”
While Hrebenak was out on parental leave, his direct supervisor who approved his leave retired and was replaced by someone else, who decided to transfer Hrebenak, according to the complaint.
His new supervisor “did not appreciate that Paul could take parental leave as a gay man, and decided to punish him by taking him out of his role,” Hrebenak’s attorney Scott Lempert, of the Center For Employment Justice, told McClatchy News.
“Many of his peers have asked him straight out, like, ‘what did you do wrong? … Why are you now back doing this kind of terrible grunt work that lower level officers are assigned to?’” Lempert said.
The lawsuit says several of Hrebenak’s co-workers who are straight had no issues after taking parental leave and were able to return to their same positions and received promotions afterward.
“There’s so many examples of straight colleagues being able to start families, being able to take leave for sick relatives, and they’re not impacted like I was,” Hrebenak said.
His lawsuit accuses the Metropolitan Police Department of violating the Family and Medical Leave Act and the D.C. Family and Medical Leave Act.
The department and the Office of the Attorney General for D.C. declined McClatchy News’ request for comment on Jan. 17, as both agencies don’t comment on pending litigation.
Retaliation before the transfer
Before Hrebenak was transferred out of his position, he was first retaliated against for taking leave when his daytime shift was switched to an evening shift, the complaint says.
Then, his permanent parking spot was taken away, according to the complaint.
After the transfer, he was required to work the midnight shift, which negatively affected his health because it worsened the symptoms of his Crohn’s disease, the complaint says.
His baby, who is now 18 months old, was 3 months old at the time, he said.
“That was really, really tough on my husband, who’s been really a rock and a hero in this whole endeavor,” Hrebenak said. “He was home alone at night with a baby.”
‘This was clearly punishment’
Hrebenak told McClatchy News that his new “abnormal schedule,” which involved him working overnight and waking up in the middle of the day to care for his son, caused his health to deteriorate.
He said he ended up spending weeks in a hospital, had to be intubated at one point and underwent multiple medical procedures.
There was no “reason the department needed to have me specifically on midnights, especially with my experience and my seniority in the position,” Hrebenak said.
Lempert told McClatchy News that “this was clearly punishment.”
The filing of the complaint is just the beginning, Lempert said. He plans to add claims related to violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the D.C. version of that law, to the lawsuit.
Hrebenak is pursuing legal action not only for himself but also for “all of the younger officers in the force who want to work in a discrimination free, equitable workplace,” Lempert said.
“It’s a difficult journey, but I want the next generation to be able to be out, proud, who they are, whatever expression, sexual orientation they have and be able to have a family that does what they choose to do, but also (have) a great career in MPD,” Hrebenak told McClatchy News.
This story was originally published January 17, 2025 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Gay police captain was demoted for taking leave to care for newborn, DC lawsuit says."
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