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HOWARD KEVIN KNUSSMAN and KIMBERLY ANN KNUSSMAN on behalf of themselves and their infant daughter RILEY PAIGE KNUSSMAN
vs.
STATE OF MARYLAND, MARYLAND STATE POLICE COLONEL DAVID B. MITCHELL CAPTAIN DAVID CZORAPINSKI, FIRST SERGEANT RONNIE P. CREEL, JILL D. MULLINEAUX
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Issues:
Family Medical Leave Act, Fourteenth Amendment, public employee, policy and procedure.
Case Summary:
Howard K. Knussman, a Maryland state trooper, files suit against the state, claiming he was unlawfully denied his right of paternal leave after his daughter was born. Knussman based his complaint on the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Maryland Equal Rights Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment, and sought compensatory damages, attorneys fees, and declamatory and injunctive relief. The state responded with several motions to dismiss.
Decision of lower jurisdiction:
This is the first judicial review of this case.
Outcome:
A split decision. The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland granted the state's motion to dismiss counts I and III, but denied motions to dismiss in all other respects. The court ruled that Knussman incorrectly cited aspects of the FMLA.