Base Period

• The DLT starts its compensation determination by finding your base period. Your unemployment compensation amounts depend on your previous wages and the base period is the year the DLT considers when looking at those wages. Your base period is the first four of the last five full calendar quarters before you filed for unemployment. For example, if you filed your claim on May 23, 2011, your base period is the January 2010 through December 2010.
  
  

Insured Wages

• Once the DLT knows your base period, it goes about identifying the insured wages you earned during that time. Insured wages are the ones you earn from work covered under the Rhode Island unemployment compensation laws. At these jobs, your employer pays into the state unemployment insurance fund based on your salary, allowing you to collect benefits. The law covers most employees but there are some exceptions, including the self-employed, independent contractors and commission only employees.
  
  

WBA

• The first calculation the DLT completes is the weekly benefit amount, which is the amount you're eligible to collect each week. It determines the base period quarter you earned the most insured wages in, which is your high quarter. It multiplies your total high quarter wages by .0462 to determine your WBA, at the time of publication. The state laws limit you to no more than $551 per week in compensation.
  
  

MBA

• After calculating your WBA, the DLT calculates your maximum benefit amount. This is the amount you can collect for the total claim each benefit year. The DLT totals the entire base period of insured wages you've earned. The DLT multiples this total by .36 for your MBA. The Rhode Island laws limit your MBA to no more than 26 times your WBA.