Military Settlements in January: 3M, Camp Lejeune, and CRSC

Several military settlements are actively paying claimants or accepting requests right now, covering 3M Combat Arms earplugs, Camp Lejeune water contamination, LGBTQ+ discharge paperwork corrections under Farrell, Army discharge upgrades tied to mental health under Kennedy, Georgia professional licensing violations against military spouses, retroactive Combat-Related Special Compensation after Soto, and illegal lending fees charged by Albert Instant. Each has its own eligibility rules and deadlines, and a few windows have already closed. Here is where each one stands and what to do if you think you qualify.

3M Combat Arms Earplug Payouts

3M’s $6 billion global settlement, reached in August 2023, resolves roughly 300,000 lawsuits alleging that the Combat Arms Version 2 earplugs issued to U.S. military personnel between 1999 and 2015 were defectively designed and failed to protect hearing. Payments run through 2029.¹

As of early 2026, more than $3.1 billion has been distributed, roughly half the total fund.² Over 99% of claimants are participating, with more than 249,000 of about 293,000 claims registered and over 41,000 dismissed by the courts.¹ BrownGreer PLC administers claims and payments through a secure online portal.³

Most Early Payment Program and wave claimants have received full payment, and Deferred Payment Program registration payments are essentially complete. Remaining distributions, including Deferred Payment Program point-value calculations and the Extraordinary Injury Fund, are scheduled annually through 2029.² The federal multidistrict litigation has been wound down, with only a minimal number of coordinated cases remaining in Minnesota. New claimants are not being added.

Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Claims

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act, enacted in August 2022 under the PACT Act, lets people who lived or worked at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between August 1953 and December 1987 seek compensation for illnesses tied to contaminated water. The filing deadline for new claims passed on August 10, 2024, and the Department of the Navy is no longer accepting new filings.⁴

In September 2023 the Department of Justice and the Navy introduced an Elective Option to resolve qualifying claims administratively.⁵ Amounts turn on injury type and length of exposure:

Tier 1 injuries (kidney cancer, liver cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemias, bladder cancer): $150,000 for 30–364 days of exposure, $300,000 for one to five years, $450,000 for more than five years.
Tier 2 injuries (multiple myeloma, Parkinson’s disease, kidney disease/end-stage renal disease, systemic sclerosis): $100,000 for 30–364 days, $250,000 for one to five years, $400,000 for more than five years.
Death supplement: an additional $100,000 for deaths linked to a qualifying injury, with a $550,000 maximum.⁶

Elective Option payments cover a single qualifying injury at its highest value, are not offset by VA disability or Medicare benefits, and do not require expert testimony on causation.⁵ As of March 10, 2026, 2,531 offers had been approved, totaling about $708 million, with more than $421 million paid since January 20, 2025.⁷ Attorney fees are capped at 20% for administrative claims and 25% for claims in litigation.

AFFF/PFAS Military Base Water Contamination

A separate and still-growing litigation covers PFAS contamination from aqueous film-forming foam, the firefighting chemical widely used on military bases. The cases are consolidated in MDL No. 2873 before Judge Richard M. Gergel in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. Active cases roughly doubled between early 2025 and mid-2026, climbing from 7,633 to over 15,200.⁸⁹

Qualifying health conditions include kidney cancer, testicular cancer, liver cancer, thyroid cancer, thyroid disease, and ulcerative colitis. No personal injury settlement has been reached, and legal observers project a global resolution for 2026 or 2027. Earlier settlements totaling over $12.2 billion were finalized for public water suppliers, including $10.3 billion from 3M and a $1.185 billion fund from DuPont and Chemours; 3M separately agreed to pay $450 million in May 2025 to resolve New Jersey’s state water claims.⁸⁹ Those funds compensated utilities, not individual servicemembers or families. Bellwether trials originally set for October 2025 were vacated as personal injury discovery continues.¹⁰

Farrell Settlement: LGBTQ+ Veteran Discharge Paperwork

If you were separated from the military before September 20, 2011, and your DD-214 references sexual orientation, the Farrell v. Department of Defense settlement entitles you to streamlined relief. The court granted final approval on March 12, 2025, with Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero finding the settlement fair, reasonable, and adequate.¹¹ The class action, filed in August 2023 by Navy veteran Sherrill Farrell and four others, covers an estimated 30,000 veterans separated under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” or earlier policies.¹²

Two forms of relief are available:

Veterans with an honorable or uncharacterized discharge can request a new DD-214 with sexual orientation references removed, with the narrative reason and separation code changed to “Secretarial Authority” and the re-entry code updated to RE-1.
Veterans with a general or other-than-honorable discharge can opt into a streamlined group review for an upgrade to honorable, along with the same paperwork corrections.¹³

You do not need to file a Board of Corrections petition or submit a copy of your current DD-214 to start the process. The streamlined procedures remain open until May 9, 2028, and additional information is available at justiceforlgbtqveterans.com.¹⁴¹⁵

Kennedy Settlement: Army Discharge Upgrades for Mental Health

Approved on April 26, 2021, by the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, the Kennedy v. McCarthy settlement requires the Army to reconsider discharge upgrade decisions for post-9/11 veterans whose less-than-honorable discharges were connected to PTSD, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, or other behavioral health conditions.¹⁶ The class covers roughly 50,000 Army, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard veterans who served between October 7, 2001, and April 26, 2021. The Army denied all allegations of wrongdoing.¹⁷

There are two tracks. The Army Discharge Review Board must automatically reconsider denials issued between April 2011 and November 2020 that involved evidence of mental health conditions; eligible veterans get a notice and 60 days to add evidence.¹⁸ Veterans denied between October 2001 and April 2011 receive individual notice and may reapply, though those separated more than 15 years ago must go through the Army Board for Correction of Military Records rather than the Discharge Review Board.¹⁹

The settlement also required telephonic hearings so veterans can participate from home, enhanced training for board members, and better documentation when an upgrade is denied.²⁰ To apply, use DD Form 293 if you were separated within 15 years or DD Form 149 if separated more than 15 years ago. Free legal assistance is available through the Yale Veterans Legal Services Clinic and other organizations listed at kennedysettlement.com.¹⁸

Georgia Licensing Boards Settlement for Military Spouses

On March 31, 2026, the Department of Justice announced a $3 million settlement with 42 Georgia state licensing boards for violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Since January 2023, the SCRA has required states to recognize valid out-of-state professional licenses for military members and spouses who relocate on military orders, and federal officials found that Georgia boards had been improperly denying or delaying applications.²¹

The DOJ estimates roughly 5,000 servicemembers and military spouses may be entitled to compensation. Affected professions include teachers, nurses, electricians, plumbers, cosmetologists, barbers, pharmacists, physical therapists, and social workers. Georgia’s boards must also adopt compliant policies and a streamlined application process.²² Anyone who applied for a Georgia professional license after January 2023 and was improperly denied or delayed can contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia at USAGAN.CivilRights@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-4626.

Retroactive Combat-Related Special Compensation After Soto

On June 12, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Soto v. United States that the Department of Defense could not impose a six-year cap on retroactive Combat-Related Special Compensation payments to disabled veterans.²³

Implementation has been disputed. The DoD issued interim guidance on August 20, 2025, and then “clarifying guidance” on January 30, 2026, that limited retroactive awards to the date of a veteran’s application rather than the date they first became eligible. The National Veterans Legal Services Program and Sidley Austin challenged that approach in Ploe v. United States, filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in November 2025, arguing the implementation violates the CRSC statute. A motion for class certification was filed and merits briefing was underway as of March 2026, and the DoD retracted the January 2026 guidance on May 14, 2026.²⁴²⁵

Albert Instant Military Lending Settlement

A $5.2 million class action settlement in Feeman v. Albert Corporation covers active-duty servicemembers (and eligible spouses and dependents) who received an Albert Instant cash advance between December 1, 2024, and December 12, 2025, and paid an instant transfer fee. The suit alleged the fees violated the federal Military Lending Act, the Truth in Lending Act, and Georgia’s Payday Lending Act.²⁶

Eligible class members are set to receive about $30 per qualifying transaction, paid automatically by check or electronic payment through MLASettlement.com. As of mid-2026 the court had not yet granted final approval, with opt-out and objection deadlines set for April 25, 2026. Albert also agreed to stop charging transfer fees on instant advances to military servicemembers and their dependents through September 30, 2027.²⁷²⁶

1
3M Investor Relations. Combat Arms Earplugs Settlement Moves to Final Resolution
2
Miller & Zois. 3M Combat Arms Earplug Lawsuit Attorneys
3
BrownGreer. Combat Arms Earplugs
4
U.S. Navy. Camp Lejeune Justice Act
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U.S. Department of Justice. Camp Lejeune Justice Act Claims
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U.S. Navy. Public Guidance Elective Option CLJA
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U.S. Department of Justice. Department of Justice Approves Historic Number of Settlements for Camp Lejeune Victims and Families
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MDL Update. MDL 2873 Aqueous Film-Forming Foams
9
Robert King Law Firm. Military Base Water Contamination Lawsuit
10
U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. Case Management Order No. 35
11
Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse. Farrell v. Department of Defense
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ABC News. Pentagon Agrees to Settle LGBTQ Vets’ Dont Ask Dont Tell Discharges
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Military Review Boards. Class Notice, Farrell et al.
14
Secretary of the Navy. Farrell Class Action
15
Justice for LGBTQ Veterans. Settlement
16
Yale Law School. Kennedy v. McCarthy
17
CT Health Investigative Team. Army Must Reconsider Applications for Discharge Upgrades Connected to PTSD
18
Kennedy Settlement. Kennedy Settlement Information
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Swords to Plowshares. Kennedy Settlement Information
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U.S. Army. Army to Review Discharges and Status Upgrade Procedures for Behavioral Health Conditions
21
WTOC. Department of Justice Announces Groundbreaking Settlement for Georgia Military Spouses
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U.S. Department of Justice. Justice Department and U.S. Attorneys Offices Reach $3 Million Settlement With Georgia Professional Licensing Boards
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NVLSP. NVLSP Issues FAQ for Veterans on Retroactive Combat-Related Special Compensation Under Supreme Court Unanimous Ruling on Soto v. United States
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NVLSP. NVLSP Soto v. U.S. Retroactive CRSC FAQs
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NVLSP. NVLSP Class Actions
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ClassAction.org. $5.2M Albert Instant Settlement Ends Class Action Lawsuit Over Allegedly Illegal Payday Loan Fees
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MLA Settlement. MLA Settlement