Disa Global Solutions accused of false positive drug tests: Oil & Gas workers file lawsuits
HOUSTON - A group of Houstonians say they lost their jobs due to "false positive drug tests."
The men FOX 26 spoke with are from different companies, but they’re all long-time oil and gas workers.
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They say their former employers all use Disa Global Solutions for the drug tests, which they say incorrectly came back positive, and all of them have lost their jobs, including an oil industry supervisor.
"I’ve been in this industry since I turned 18. It’s all I know how to do. My drug test was August last year, came back positive for synthetic marijuana, which I was notified at that time and I couldn’t believe it," says Andrew Castaneda. He added, "It has taken a toll on me mentally, emotionally, on my family. I have four children. To not be able to provide due to this is a feeling, that’s unexplainable. You know now, I know what it is like to be in a situation, to be falsely accused, and how much it can really take a toll on a man’s mental health."
A 29-year veteran of the oil industry says after his Disa Global Solutions drug test came back positive for cocaine, he took an independent test with another reputable company and the results were negative for drugs in his system.
"The policy at the company is once you come back positive, pretty much you’re terminated, and you’re on your own against Disa, trying to fix this alone. It is really embarrassing to walk out of your office, because supposedly you use drugs. Then you have to go back home and explain to your wife and kids why you got fired. It’s not fair. I have proof right here explaining otherwise. I don’t use drugs," explains Juan Dominguez.
"Look at this man’s test. He took a hair follicle test, the most thorough test you can take, a hair follicle test, and he came back completely negative. But the sad part about it is, it’s not just him, it’s happening to hundreds of these oil and gas employees who work in the field all across America. You can see the lawsuits being filed everywhere," says Community Activist Quanell X.
Marcus Davis had filed a federal lawsuit after he was fired in 2022 following what he says was a "false positive" drug test.
Davis says he also then took another drug test that showed negative results, plus he says, as part of his probation, the state of Texas was regularly drug testing him at the time, including the same month of the "false" test. According to Davis, all of the test results from the state came back negative, unlike the test he took for his job.
"I mean they just told me I tested positive for methamphetamine. I argued with them and told them that was incorrect. This is something that’s been going on with this company for years. It’s a matter of record. I can’t even unpack it in this small amount of time. If somebody just does a quick Google search, lawsuits against Disa Global Solutions, you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about," says Davis.
"If you know this is going on, and you continuously want to use this company as your drug testing company, then you’re complicit with the foolishness as well," says Activist Dr. Candice Matthews.
"I was already going through a tough time in my life, a rebuilding process and for these people to come and do to me what they’ve done to countless others, it’s just unacceptable. I mean look at the number of deaths by suicide in the United States last year. Now, think of some of the social strains that can contribute to that number. Losing your job is a trigger for a lot of people that have committed suicide," Davis adds.
There are dozens of members in a Facebook group called Disa Global Solutions Workers Harmed by False Positive Drug Tests.
The terminated workers FOX 26 spoke with say after months, and for some years of trying to get this corrected, they say their only option seems to be to get an attorney and filing a lawsuit to try and fix it.
FOX 26 called and emailed Disa Global Solutions, but we have yet to hear back.