Section 1 of the Restoration Act amplifies this message. It states that the measure was needed because the provisions of the City HRL had been "construed too narrowly to ensure protection of the civil rights of all persons covered by the law." It goes on to mandate that provisions of the City HRL be interpreted "independently from similar or identical provisions of New York state or federal statutes." (Id.) Taking sections 1 and 7 of the Restoration Act together, it is clear that interpretations of state or federal provisions worded similarly to City HRL provisions may be used as aids in interpretation only to the extent that the counterpart provisions are viewed "as a floor below which the City's Human Rights law cannot fall, rather{**61 AD3d at 67} than a ceiling above which the local law cannot rise" (§ 1), and only to the extent that those state or federal law decisions may provide guidance as to the "uniquely broad and remedial" provisions of the local law (§ 7).
The Committee Report accompanying the legislation likewise states that the intent of the Restoration Act was to "ensure construction of the City's human rights law in line with the purposes of fundamental amendments to the law enacted in 1991," and to reverse the pattern of judicial decisions that had improvidently "narrowed the scope of the law's protections" (Rep of Comm on Gen Welfare, 2005 NY City Legis Ann, at 536).
The City Council's debate on the legislation made plain the Restoration Act's intent and consequences: