Wisconsin lawmakers on April 7 introduced several bills related to unemployment insurance, including one that would index the length of unemployment insurance benefits to the state’s unemployment rate. Assembly Bill 153 would reduce the maximum number of benefit weeks to 14 during times when the unemployment rate is at or below 3.5%. The bill also proposes capping the maximum benefit length at 26 weeks during times when the unemployment rate is more than 9%.
Wisconsin’s current maximum benefit length is 26 weeks, and the state’s unemployment rate in February was 2.7%, according to preliminary data from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD). The maximum weekly benefit would fall by 12 weeks (from 26 weeks to 14 weeks) if the bill becomes law and the unemployment rate remains stable.
The other bills in the package include provisions that propose:
