Ralph Altman Dies; Labor Official
Ralph Altman, 86, who helped draft and implement national unemployment benefits legislation during 35 years at the Labor Department, died Aug. 1 at Holy Cross Hospital.</br></br>He was being treated for complications of hip surgery at the Fox Chase Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Silver Spring.</br></br>Mr. Altman, who lived in Arlington, retired in 1976 as deputy administrator of the Unemployment Insurance Service. He had also been an appeals analyst and chief of appeals and interpretations. He worked at the Federal Farm Labor Service at the Agriculture Department on loan from his agency.</br></br>He wrote a definitive work on unemployment benefits, "Availability for Work," that was published by Harvard University Press.</br></br>Mr. Altman was a graduate of the State University of New York in his native Albany, where he received a law degree. He did graduate work in labor law at Harvard University. He served in the Navy during World War II.