Further evidence in the legislative history precludes making the standard for sexual harassment violations a carbon copy of the federal and state standard. The City HRL's enhanced liberal construction requirement was passed partly in recognition of multiple complaints that a change to section 8-130 was necessary to prevent women from being hurt by the unduly restrictive "severe or pervasive" standard. The Council had been told that the "severe or pervasive" standard "continuously hurts women" and "means that many victims of sexual harassment may never step forward."[FN24]
Likewise, the Council was told that "without any consideration of what [*15]standard would best further {**61 AD3d at 78}the purposes of the City Law, women who have been sexually harassed are routinely thrown out of court without getting a chance to have a jury hear their claims because a judge uses the federal standard that they have not been harassed enough"[FN25]
and that "[w]e have long had the problem of judges insisting that harassment [has] to be 'severe or pervasive' before it is actionable, even though such a requirement unduly narrows the reach of the law."[FN26]