The North Carolina Department of Labor's Occupational Health and Safety Division is investigating the workplace death of a migrant farmworker in Wayne County earlier this month…

A GoFundMe page set up to support the Ceballos family, however, says he died from heat-related illness.

The Wayne County Sheriff's Office did not respond to WUNC's request for a death investigation report…

The state has opened an inspection into his employer, Gracia and Sons LLC, a seasonal farm labor contractor. The OSH Division will have six months to issue any citations if the inspection finds that rules were broken.

In 2023, the same contractor settled out of court after being sued for human trafficking, wage theft and mistreatment of female migrant workers, several media outlets reported…

His body was repatriated to Mexico on July 20 and funds are still being sought to cover funeral-related expenses.

The maximum temperature recorded the day of Ceballo's death was 101 degrees Fahrenheit in nearby Johnston County, according to the National Weather Service. It was one of only of a few days with a temperature high of at least 100 degrees.

Heat-related incidents are prevalent in North Carolina "when outdoor temperatures exceed 95 degrees with high relative humidity," according to an NCDOL heat stress information sheet…