§ 300. Construction. The provisions of this article shall be construed
liberally for the accomplishment of the remedial purposes thereof,
regardless of whether federal civil rights laws, including those laws
with provisions worded comparably to the provisions of this article,
have been so construed. Exceptions to and exemptions from the provisions
of this article shall be construed narrowly in order to maximize
deterrence of discriminatory conduct. Nothing contained in this article
shall be deemed to repeal any of the provisions of the civil rights law
or any other law of this state relating to discrimination; but, as to
acts declared unlawful by section two hundred ninety-six of this
article, the procedure herein provided shall, while pending, be
exclusive; and the final determination therein shall exclude any other
state civil action based on the same grievance of the individual
concerned. If such individual institutes any action based on such
grievance without resorting to the procedure provided in this article,
he or she may not subsequently resort to the procedure herein.