Government

2015 Weekly Unemployment Benefit Capped At $477

Department of Labor (DOL) Commissioner Albert Bryan, Jr., has announced that the maximum amount of weekly unemployment money Virgin Islands employees will be eligible to receive in the year beginning January 4, 2015 is $477, based on the department's own calculations. According to Bryan, citing Virgin Islands Unemployment Insurance Act, Title 24, Chapter 12, Section 303(c), the Maximum Weekly Benefit Amount (MWBA) shall be an amount equal to 65 percent of the established average weekly wage in insured work rounded to the next lower dollar. The established average weekly wage based on employment and wage statistics is $733.44, 65 percent of which is $477 per week. Bryan also announced the taxable wage base as $22,900.00, which is 60 percent $38,139.02 --  the established average annual wage, statistics gathered by DOL reveal. According to Title 24, Chapter 12, Section 308(c) of the Virgin Islands Unemployment Insurance Act, the Taxable Wage Base is 60 percent of the average annual ...