DOJ Finalizes HAVANA Act Payments for Its Employees and Dependents
ANALYSIS · October 27, 2026
Slug: implementation-havana-act-2021
This document is a final rule (91 FR 67476) published by the Department of Justice on October 27, 2026. It adopts with minor title and date changes an April 19, 2024 interim final rule that implements section 3 of the HAVANA Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-46, codified at 22 U.S.C. 2680b(i)), as amended by Public Law 119-60 on December 18, 2025. The rule authorizes the Department, in its discretion, to make one-time, non-taxable lump-sum payments to current and former DOJ employees and their covered dependents who suffered qualifying brain injuries on or after September 11, 2001. It does not create new legal rights, guarantee payments, or cover non-DOJ personnel.
Primary sources
- Federal Register Documents (October 27, 2026): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/10/27/2026-21923/implementation-of-havana-act-of-2021
The Department of Justice published a final rule that adopts its 2024 interim final rule implementing the HAVANA Act of 2021. No public comments were received during the original or reopened comment periods. The rule allows DOJ to pay current and former employees and their dependents for qualifying brain injuries that occurred on or after September 11, 2001, in any location, provided the injury meets statutory and regulatory criteria and funds are appropriated.
Core Tension
The rule frames itself as fulfilling congressional direction to compensate victims of Anomalous Health Incidents with a clear, consistent standard modeled on the State Department’s approach. In practice it gives the Department full discretion over eligibility, incident designation, payment amounts, and whether any payment is made at all; payments are capped at Level III of the Executive Schedule, limited to appropriated funds on a first-come first-served basis, and exclude injuries resulting from willful misconduct. The earliest eligibility date was updated from January 1, 2016 to September 11, 2001 per the 2025 statutory change. Open questions remain about how many claims DOJ expects, how it will designate “other incidents,” and whether funding will be sufficient.
What the final rule does
| Section / element | Verified text / effect |
|---|---|
| Scope | Covers only current and former Department of Justice employees and their dependents; does not apply to other federal agencies. |
| Eligibility date | Qualifying injuries on or after September 11, 2001. |
| Qualifying injury to the brain | Adopts State Department definition at 22 CFR 135.2: acute brain injury (concussion, penetrating, or imaging-confirmed permanent alteration); or medical diagnosis of traumatic brain injury requiring 12+ months active treatment; or acute onset of new persistent disabling neurologic symptoms requiring 12+ months treatment. |
| Payment authority | One-time, non-taxable lump sum “based on, and may not exceed, Level III of the Executive Schedule”; Base payment at 75 percent, Base+ at 100 percent for severe-impact cases. |
| Severe-impact criteria | Lack of reemployment potential (DOL), SSA disability approval, or physician certification of need for full-time caregiver per Katz Index. |
| Funding limit | “Payments may only be made using amounts appropriated in advance specifically for this purpose”; first-come, first-served. |
| Approval officials | Operations Director, Human Capital Branch (FBI) for FBI personnel; Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Human Capital (JMD) for all others. |
| Appeals | Denial of payment (but not amount) may be appealed to Assistant Attorney General for Administration within 60 days. |
| Effective date | November 27, 2026. |
Claims check
| Claim | Assessment | Receipt |
|---|---|---|
| No comments were received on the interim final rule | Verified | Summary and Supplementary Information sections state the comment period closed June 18, 2024, was reopened until November 18, 2024, and “The Department received no written or electronic comments” in either period. |
| Rule covers current and former DOJ employees and their dependents | Verified | The Summary says the rule “covers current and former Department of Justice employees and their dependents,” and the Background section says it “only applies to current and former employees of the Department and their dependents, as defined in Sec. 106.2 of this rule.” |
| Earliest eligibility date changed to September 11, 2001 | Verified | Background section cites December 18, 2025 amendment (Pub. L. 119-60, Sec. 5604) and Definitions—Sec. 106.2 applies the new date. |
| Payments are non-taxable and capped at Level III of the Executive Schedule | Verified | Eligibility for Payments—Sec. 106.3 states payments are “non-taxable pursuant to 22 U.S.C. 2680b(g)” and “based on, and may not exceed, Level III of the Executive Schedule.” |
| Rule guarantees compensation to all qualifying applicants | False | Text repeatedly states payments are “in its discretion,” “contingent on appropriated funds,” and will be paid “on a first-come, first-served basis.” |
Context / what to watch
- November 27, 2026: Final rule becomes effective.
- Ongoing: Availability of specific appropriations for HAVANA Act payments, and the information DOJ says it will make available to its workforce on how to apply using the DS-4316 Eligibility Questionnaire.
- Future claims: How the Department designates “other incidents” not under Chief of Mission authority and how it applies the 12-month treatment threshold and severe-impact criteria in practice.
Reviewed and checked against the Federal Register final rule (91 FR 67476) · Kelvic Report · 2026-10-27 · for /analysis/implementation-havana-act-2021