Here is a digest of the stories referenced in today’s program
1. Texas Tech Giant Cognizant Slammed Again In Landmark H-1B Ruling
Cognizant Slammed Again In Landmark H-1B Ruling | Image by Canva
A federal judge has issued a significant new ruling against Cognizant Technology Solutions, determining that several of the company’s long-standing workforce policies disproportionately affected employees who are neither South Asian nor Indian.
This ruling marks another setback in an eight-year discrimination case that has become one of the most closely monitored legal battles in the tech industry.
Chief U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee ruled on December 5 that Cognizant’s “Visa Readiness,” “Visa Utilization,” and related staffing practices had a discriminatory disparate impact on U.S. workers during the class period of 2016–2022.
The court found the policies, which prioritized large pools of H-1B visa holders, overwhelmingly Indian nationals, resulted in the disproportionate termination of non-South Asian and non-Indian employees placed on the company’s internal “bench.”
The ruling follows an earlier October 2024 jury verdict that found Cognizant intentionally discriminated against the same group, awarding punitive damages, per the legal blog of Duane Morris.
Plaintiffs had argued that Cognizant effectively engineered a workforce dominated by Indian H-1B holders and used its bench-termination system to push out American workers at far higher rates.
Judge Gee cited statistical evidence showing:
Non-South Asians were 7x more likely to face involuntary termination overall.
Non-South Asian and non-Indian workers were 8.4x more likely to be terminated from the bench.
Disparities reached 96 standard deviations — making the likelihood of random chance “less than one in a billion.”
Non-Visa employees had a 30% termination rate from the bench, compared with 3% for visa holders, who were 99% Indian-origin.
The court rejected Cognizant’s business-necessity defense, pointing to the company’s heavy reliance on projected H-1B labor. Through “Visa Readiness,” Cognizant routinely applied for excess H-1 B visas to build a pipeline of “travel-ready” workers before actual U.S. job openings existed.
Related “Visa Utilization” policies, including rotation rules, “operational excellence” initiatives, and visa-chargeback systems, further incentivized managers to staff visa holders first.
Roughly 88% of Cognizant’s U.S. workforce during the class period were South Asian.
The class includes more than 2,000 employees terminated from the bench between 2013 and 2022. Phase Two of the case, which will determine individualized remedies such as back pay or reinstatement, is set to move forward in early 2026.
The ruling marks another major defeat for one of the country’s most prolific users of the H-1B program.
Cognizant held more than 3,000 active H-1B visas in Texas alone as of March 2025, according to federal data previously reported by The Dallas Express.
A Cognizant spokesman previously issued a statement on the case at the time of the 2024 ruling:
“Cognizant is disappointed with the verdict and plans to vigorously defend itself and appeal at the appropriate time. We provide equal employment opportunities for all employees and have built a diverse and inclusive workplace that promotes a culture of belonging in which all employees feel valued, are engaged and have the opportunity to develop and succeed. Cognizant does not tolerate discrimination and takes such claims seriously.”
This disparate impact ruling came just days before leaders at the Department of Justice announced a policy change in how the agency would handle those cases.
“The prior ‘disparate impact’ regulations encouraged people to file lawsuits challenging racially neutral policies, without evidence of intentional discrimination,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a press release.
“Our rejection of this theory will restore true equality under the law by requiring proof of actual discrimination, rather than enforcing race- or sex-based quotas or assumptions.”
2. Crest Kids Toothpaste Packaging Updated In 2026 Under Texas AG Agreement On Fluoride Safety2
Paxton Secures Crest Fluoride Packaging Deal | Image by Petr Bonek/Shutterstock
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s agreement with Procter & Gamble regarding imagery of fluoride on children’s toothpaste has sparked both praise and criticism, renewing the debate on consumer protection amidst rising concerns about fluoride exposure.
Paxton announced on January 8 that his office had reached an agreement with Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Company, the maker of Crest toothpaste, requiring the company to update the marketing and packaging of its children’s products to depict the recommended amounts of fluoride toothpaste accurately.
Paxton’s announcement noted misleading images showing large dollops of toothpaste could encourage overuse and pose health risks to children.
Under the agreement, Procter & Gamble will ensure that Crest children’s toothpaste packaging depicts appropriate amounts of toothpaste, with updated packaging rolling out on January 1, 2026.
The company is required to maintain compliance for five years.
The agreement follows a similar settlement Paxton’s office reached with Colgate in 2025, which his release described as the first of its kind.
Paxton said in a statement that parents should not have to worry about “deceptive marketing endangering their children,” adding that excessive fluoride exposure can put children’s health and brain development at risk. His press release framed the agreement as part of a broader effort to align toothpaste manufacturers with federal health guidance.
The settlement comes as litigation over fluoride marketing and exposure continues nationwide.
In January 2025, a class action lawsuit was filed in federal court in Illinois alleging that Procter & Gamble deceptively marketed children’s Crest toothpaste by depicting excessive amounts of fluoride, omitting age restrictions, and using flavors that encourage ingestion. That case was brought by attorney Michael Connett of Siri & Glimstad LLP and remains pending.
Connett said the Texas agreement represents progress but leaves key issues unresolved.
“I do think it’s worth noting that the agreement does not require P&G to comply with the current requirement that kids under 3 use no more than a RICE GRAIN (aka smear),” Connett told The Dallas Express via text.
“While it’s good to see some forward progress, it is not good enough for P&G to be allowed to continue telling parents that 2-year-old children can use a pea-sized amount. That is NOT the current guideline from health authorities, including pro-fluoride dental organizations like the ADA.”
The American Dental Association website states, “The ADA recognizes the use of fluoride and community water fluoridation as safe and effective in preventing tooth decay for both children and adults.”
Some dental professionals welcomed the agreement while criticizing the process that led to it.
Dr Griffin Cole, DDS, NMD, a biologic dentist who grew up in San Antonio and now practices in Colorado, said the settlement addresses a long-standing concern.
“Attorney General Paxton’s agreement with Procter & Gamble is a step in the right direction for the health of Texas’s children and one that is long overdue,” Cole told The Dallas Express. “It shouldn’t have required a lawsuit to bring this to fruition, but this is a win for all of us concerned about fluoride toxicity.”
Anti-fluoride activists in Texas also reacted to the announcement by drawing a distinction between toothpaste and fluoridated drinking water, which remains common across the state.
Regina Imburgia, a Dallas-based activist who has repeatedly urged local officials to end water fluoridation, said the agreement does little to address what she sees as a larger problem.
“My first thought is: ‘Great’ when any movement is made to reduce fluoride exposure, but buying toothpaste is an elective situation,” Imburgia told The Dallas Express via text.
“Community water fluoridation uses our tax dollars to raise the fluoride level in our tap water. Surely, Paxton could add some weight to this issue.”
Imburgia said policymakers should emphasize the difference between topical, pharmaceutical-grade sodium fluoride used intentionally on teeth and fluoride compounds added to municipal water supplies.
Procter & Gamble, for its part, said the agreement does not reflect any admission of wrongdoing.
In a statement emailed to The Dallas Express, a company spokesman said, “P&G and the Crest brand are fully committed to delivering safe, reliable products that benefit the oral health outcomes of our consumers. The quality and safety of our products is our top priority.”
The spokesman added that the company was “pleased that the Texas Attorney General acknowledged in the settlement that our products comply with all laws and regulations regarding directions for use,” and said Procter & Gamble is “voluntarily agreeing to ensure that our artwork reflects recommended dosing levels for children.”
The agreement comes amid heightened scrutiny of fluoride exposure more broadly, including recent federal court rulings and ongoing appeals over community water fluoridation, according to prior reporting by The Dallas Express and advocacy groups tracking the issue.
For now, Paxton’s office has characterized the Crest agreement as a consumer protection measure focused narrowly on marketing practices, even as critics on both sides say it may fuel a wider debate over fluoride policy in Texas and beyond.
3. Exclusive: Dusty Turner Speaks Ahead Of Crucial January 7 Parole Hearing
Dusty Turner Speaks Ahead Of Crucial January 7 Parole Hearing | Images by Navy SEAL Left Behind @freedustyturner/X
Update to original story: 01/07/26 at 3:20 pm: The Virginia Parole Board certified the votes granting Dusty Turner parole, according to a post from The Free Dusty Turner Instagram account on January 7. DX reached out to the advocacy group’s spokeswoman for a timetable for when Dusty might be released. She responded, “We don’t have any information on his release at this time.”
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A Virginia parole hearing scheduled for Wednesday could clear the way for the release of Dustin “Dusty” Turner after more than 30 years in prison.
Turner, a former Navy SEAL trainee who has been imprisoned since the mid-1990s for the murder of 21-year-old Jennifer Evans, participated in an exclusive audio interview with The Dallas Express shortly before the Virginia Parole Board’s public hearing on January 7.
This hearing is a procedural requirement to finalize an earlier parole vote, reportedly conducted in October 2025.
Turner reflected on decades of incarceration, repeated appeals, and what he described as systemic failures that have kept him behind bars despite judicial findings casting doubt on the prosecution’s original theory of the case.
“I try to look at things objectively, even as I endure daily hardships and, worst of all, witness the hardships and heartbreak that my family have endured unjustly,” Turner told DX. “Injustice is, unfortunately, part of the human experience.”
Turner added that he has encountered other inmates in Virginia prisons whom he believes were wrongfully convicted.
“Politics and egos are often what keep wrongfully convicted people in prison long after their innocence is known.”
The parole hearing, scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Eastern time, is intended to certify parole votes that advocates say were delayed by additional evaluations ordered by the board. State officials have not publicly detailed those internal deliberations.
Advocates for Turner announced the hearing on social media earlier this week, encouraging supporters to attend virtually and describing the proceeding as the final step needed for his release, according to posts shared by the Free Dusty Turner social media campaign.
Turner was convicted in a 1996 trial of abducting and killing Evans in Virginia Beach and sentenced to 82 years in prison. A co-defendant later recanted trial testimony in sworn statements, saying he acted alone, as previously reported on by The Dallas Express.
In 2008 and 2009, a Virginia Circuit Court appeals court ruled that the co-defendant, Billy Joe Brown, acted independently and that Turner had no role in the murder. However, higher courts declined to overturn the conviction, citing concerns about recantation evidence.
Prosecutors argued that Turner was criminally liable under felony murder statutes even if he did not personally commit the killing, a position that continues to underpin his conviction for felony murder. His conviction for abduction also remains.
In the interview, Turner again acknowledged helping dispose of Evans’ body after her death, a fact long cited by prosecutors and critics. He framed that decision as a moral failure rather than proof of guilt for the underlying crimes.
“Accountability begins with an extremely raw and truthful account of your actions,” Turner said. “I take full responsibility for my actions then and now, and I always hold myself accountable for any mistakes I make, especially if those mistakes impact others.”
Turner said his actions were shaped by what he described as a misplaced obligation to a fellow SEAL trainee. “[My co-defendant] later felt justified in implicating me in his crime because I ‘broke the seal code’ by telling my superior officer and the detectives what had happened,” he said.
Asked what he would say to the outgoing Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin or the parole board, Turner urged decision-makers to reexamine the record.
“I would simply say to look at the facts, both in 1995 and today,” he said. “No one who digs into my case can say that I am guilty of either an abduction or murder.”
The timing of the hearing is significant. It comes just days before Youngkin’s term ends. While a pardon would require direct executive action, parole certification would allow Turner’s release if all procedural requirements are met, according to advocates.
Turner, now in his 50s, said he has spent his years in prison trying to remain grounded and purposeful.
Reflecting on the recent Christmas season, he said, “I love each season, and each day that I get outside is beautiful regardless of the weather.”
“How I have been able to cope with the challenges of each day after 11,000 plus days in prison for crimes I did not commit is difficult to sum up in so many words,” he said. “I expect to unravel and express all of that after my long-overdue release.”
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