From 1938 to 1946, Ives was chairman of the State Joint Legislative Committee on Industrial and Labor Conditions. In that position he earned nationwide attention for sponsoring the Ives-Quinn Act of 1945, the first state law to prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of race, creed, color, or national origin. Ives also introduced legislation to create the state Department of Commerce and to establish the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, of which he was dean from 1945 to 1947. He also served as a member of the New York State War Council (1942 – 1946), chairman of New York State Temporary Commission Against Discrimination (1944 – 1945), and chairman of the New York State Temporary Commission on Agriculture (1945 – 1946).