Justice Saliann Scarpulla
Student McCormick, 61 years of age, commenced a one year internship at International Center for the Disabled (ICD) to complete the requirements of her Ph.D. She asserted a claim for age discrimination. Defendants moved to dismiss arguing failure to state a cause of action. McCormick alleged her therapy supervisor, and overall supervisor were biased against her from the start, and argued such bias was clear by comments made. ICD supervisors contacted McCormick’s school to complain about problems with her work, and subsequently dismissed her with a poor evaluation, resulting in McCormick failing her internship course and receiving no credit hours. Defendants argued McCormick could not establish a cause of action for age discrimination under either the State or City Human Rights Law as she was an unpaid intern, thus not a paid employee without standing to assert such claims. The court agreed noting as McCormick was an unpaid intern at ICD, she could not establish she was a covered employee under the State HRL, or under a more liberal analysis of the City HRL. Thus, as the allegations failed to allege facts to show the discharge occurred under circumstances giving rise to an inference of age discrimination, the complaint was dismissed.
