Bill > HB424

This bill amends Mississippi's unemployment compensation law by significantly revising the calculation and minimum weekly benefit amounts for individuals receiving unemployment benefits. The new provisions establish a tiered minimum weekly benefit amount based on total wages, ranging from $250 per week for those with wages of $25,000 or less, up to $1,000 per week for those with wages over $100,000. The bill eliminates previous fixed maximum and minimum benefit caps and replaces them with a more dynamic calculation method that ties benefits to an individual's previous earnings. The calculation still involves determining the weekly benefit amount as one-twenty-sixth of the highest quarter's wages in the base period, but now introduces a more granulated approach to setting minimum benefits. Additionally, the bill removes previous requirements for the Mississippi Department of Employment Security to generate actuarial models for benefit computations. The changes will take effect on July 1, 2025, potentially providing more substantial unemployment benefits to workers with higher previous earnings while maintaining the existing structure of unemployment compensation calculations.

Labor and Employment

https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2025/pdf/history/HB/HB0424.xml