State of New York, Executive Chamber. “This is to certify that the pen hereunto affixed was used by me in approving Assembly Bill, Introductory Number 5814… in relation to the employment of persons adhering to certain religious practices.”

This historic bill banned discrimination against publicly-employed Jews who chose to observe the Sabbath day. The late Rabbi Chaim Uri Lipschitz, one of the initiators of the legislation, attended the signing ceremony in Albany and received this pen directly from the Governor. A similar bill, banning such discrimination in private employment, was passed in 1971. These bills are two of the most important items of legislation ever passed for New York’s religious Jewish community.