2019 Owner Survey: Employee Screening Trends & Best Practices

Ban the box blog 1200

At DISA’s ‘Day with DISA’ drug testing conference and networking event on October 29th, DISA helped educate employers on valuable drug testing insights that will help them further protect their company. Colin Woods, DISA’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing presented on the History of Drug Testing and our 2019 Owner Survey to bring awareness to the powerful impact drug testing has in the workplace.


The 2019 Owner Survey had participation from more than 60 owner / operators in the oil & gas, chemical, and energy industries who perform drug testing. The survey collected data from owners with the goal of identifying best practices for safety sensitive industries related to employee screening and site management.

Here are a 5 of the 11 key takeaways that Colin presented on in this session:

  • Most owners are sharing contractor compliance information with peers. Compliance information is predominantly shared through DISA and 75% of the time contractor screening is standardized across all sites
  • 71% of owners mandate a single provider for drug testing. The leading reasons for mandating a single provider are standardized requirements, real-time tracking, ease of administration, and increased safety.
  • The surveys revealed that 71% of owners saw a reduction in safety related incidents upon implementing a drug testing program. An additional 52% of owners saw a further reduction upon implementing a drug testing consortium. DISA’s Contractor’s Consortium (DCC) helps to manage the multiple workplace screening requirements that contractor companies must meet to be allowed to work at safety-sensitive worksites.
  • There’s been an increase in owners implementing background check due to increased onsite incidents. More than 31% of all owners have seen theft related incidents, 30% have seen drug abuse, and 7% have had on-site violence in the past 12 months.
  • The majority of owners now require background checks that are renewed every other year and require a cut score of 2. Scoring is determined by using a DISA grading scale ranging from 0-7 and covers a variety of record tracking which increases by number. For example: a score of 2 is a violent misdemeanor, while a score of 7 is a Patriot Act hit (terrorist watch).

As DISA continues to collect valuable information, we’re always looking for more owners to add to the survey and get a better understanding of best practices in the Oil & Gas industry. If you’re interested in participating in upcoming owner surveys, please contact Donnie Martinez at donnie.martinez@disa.com for more information.

Are you an employer and still have questions regarding employment screening?

DISA can help! Get answers directly from DISA’s subject matter experts with ‘Ask DISA’

Visit www.askdisa.com to ask your questions today.

About DISA Global Solutions

Founded in 1986, DISA is the industry-leading provider of employee screening and compliance services. Headquartered in Houston, with more than 35 offices throughout the U.S. and Canada, DISA’s comprehensive scope of services includes drug and alcohol testing, background check, occupational health, and transportation compliance. DISA assists employers in making informed staffing decisions while building a culture of safety in their workplace.

DISA Global Solutions aims to provide accurate and informative content for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The reader retains full responsibility for the use of the information contained herein. Always consult with a professional or legal expert.