(1) Except as provided in sub. (6) and ss. 108.141 and 108.142, no claimant may receive total benefits based on employment in a base period greater than 26 times the claimant’s weekly benefit rate under s. 108.05 (1) or 40 percent of the claimant’s base period wages, whichever is lower. Except as provided in sub. (6) and ss. 108.141 and 108.142, if a claimant’s base period wages are reduced or canceled under s. 108.04 (5) or (18), or suspended under s. 108.04 (1) (f), (10) (a), or (17), the claimant may not receive total benefits based on employment in a base period greater than 26 times the claimant’s weekly benefit rate under s. 108.05 (1) or 40 percent of the base period wages not reduced, canceled or suspended which were paid or payable to the claimant, whichever is lower. (2) (a) A claimant may establish a benefit year in the manner prescribed by the department by rule, whenever the claimant qualifies to start a benefit year under s. 108.04 (4) (a) and: 1. The employee is eligible to receive benefits; 2. The employee has experienced a reduction in hours of employment of at least 25 percent in one week as compared to his or her average number of hours of employment for the preceding 13 weeks; or 3. The employee reasonably expects to be eligible to receive benefits during the next 13 weeks. (b) No employee is eligible to receive benefits before the employee establishes a benefit year. (bm) An employee’s benefit year begins on the Sunday of the week in which the employee files a valid request to establish a benefit year with the department, except that the department may permit an employee to begin a benefit year prior to that time under circumstances prescribed by rule of the department. (c) No benefits are payable to a claimant for any week of unemployment not occurring during the claimant’s benefit year except under ss. 108.141 and 108.142. (cm) If an employee qualifies to receive benefits using the base period described in s. 108.02 (4) (b), the wages used to compute the employee’s benefit entitlement are not available for use in any subsequent benefit computation for the same employee, except under s. 108.141 or 108.142. (d) A claimant may request that the department set aside a benefit year by filing a written, verbal or electronic request in the manner that the department prescribes by rule. The department shall grant the request and cancel the benefit year if the request is voluntary, benefits have not been paid to the claimant and at the time the department acts upon the request for that benefit year the claimant’s benefit eligibility is not suspended. If the claimant does not meet these requirements, the department shall not set aside the benefit year unless the department defines by rule exceptional circumstances in which a claimant may be permitted to set aside a request to establish a benefit year and the claimant qualifies to make such a request under the circumstances described in the rule. (2m) Wisconsin supplemental benefits are only available to claimants during a Wisconsin supplemental benefit period. If an extended benefit period ends prior to the end of a claimant’s previously established benefit year, any remaining Wisconsin supplemental benefit entitlement, reduced by the amount of extended benefits paid to him or her, shall again be available to the claimant within the remainder of the benefit year only if there is a Wisconsin supplemental benefit period in effect. In this subsection, “extended benefits”, “extended benefit period”, “Wisconsin supplemental benefits” and “Wisconsin supplemental benefit period” have the meanings given in ss. 108.141 and 108.142. (3) There shall be payable to an employee, for weeks ending within the employee’s benefit year, only those benefits computed for that benefit year based on the wages paid to the employee in the immediately preceding base period. Wages used in a given benefit computation are not available for use in any subsequent benefit computation except under s. 108.141. (5) An employee has a valid new claim week starting a new benefit year if all the following conditions are met: (a) The week is not within an unexpired benefit year or similar period of eligibility for unemployment insurance in another state unless the employee’s eligibility for unemployment insurance in the other state is exhausted, terminated, indefinitely postponed or affected by application of a seasonal restriction. (b) The employee has claimed benefits for that week under s. 108.08 (1). (c) The employee has met the general qualifying requirements provided in s. 108.04 (2) applicable to the employee for that week. (d) As of the start of that week, the employee has base period wages under s. 108.04 (4) which have not been canceled under s. 108.04 (5) or excluded under s. 108.04 (10), (17) or (18). (6) If a claimant has established a benefit year prior to the effective date of any increase in the maximum weekly benefit rate provided under s. 108.05 (1), the claimant has not exhausted his or her total benefit entitlement under sub. (1) for that benefit year on that effective date, and the claimant was entitled to receive the maximum weekly benefit rate under s. 108.05 (1) that was in effect prior to that effective date, the limitation on the total benefits authorized to be paid to a claimant under sub. (1) does not apply to that claimant in that benefit year. Unless s. 108.141 or 108.142 applies, the claimant’s remaining benefit entitlement in that benefit year for the period beginning on that effective date shall be computed by: (a) Subtracting the total benefits received by the claimant prior to that effective date from the claimant’s maximum benefit entitlement established prior to that effective date under sub. (1); (b) Dividing the result obtained under par. (a) by the maximum weekly benefit rate that was in effect prior to that effective date; and (c) Multiplying the result obtained under par. (b) by the weekly benefit rate which is payable to the claimant under s. 108.05 (1) after that effective date.
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