The North Carolina Department of Labor is investigating the death of a seasonal farm worker on Tuesday morning in Nash County.

Thirty-year-old José Arturo González Mendoza of Guanajuato, Mexico was in North Carolina under an H-2A visa for temporary agricultural workers. One of the man's relatives says lack of water and breaks from the heat were factors, though a cause of death hasn’t been officially determined.

González Mendoza began working at Barnes Farming in Spring Hope, about 40 miles east of Raleigh, less than two weeks before he died. His younger brother said they began working at the farm after years of taking H-2A jobs elsewhere...

González Mendoza's family said workers weren’t provided enough food or water during the day, but many are afraid to lose their jobs if they complain...

“He was harvesting sweet potatoes. He warned that he wasn’t feeling well but they didn’t pay attention,” [the brother] said. “When they called the ambulance, he was already lifeless.”...

A statement from Barnes Farming said González Mendoza notified his field supervisor that he wasn’t feeling well and went to rest at the back of the bus used to transport workers. A manager then checked on him, the company said, and called 911.

Barnes Farming said it is working with the North Carolina Growers Association to pay for the funeral and other expenses, as well as to provide grief counseling to employees...