Yuma was in the grips of a brutal 110-degree heat wave last July when Dario Mendoza collapsed working in a melon field and died.
The death of the 26-year-old father of two sparked concerns about inadequate state regulations protecting farmworkers and other employees who work in the Arizona heat, which is being exacerbated by climate change.
The Yuma County medical examiner in July declared the death heat-related.
But an inspection into the worksite death by the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health concluded that Mendoza had adequate access to water, shade and rest. The ADOSH report also cited a Yuma County Medical Examiner report that concluded that the main cause of death was an overdose of methamphetamine.
The agency recommended no citations against the company, Nex Gen Farm Management Inc.
The report said Nex Gen Farm Management adopted California’s higher standards for protecting workers years ago.
Those standards include “training employees on signs and symptoms of heat stress, what to do in the event of an emergency, communicating the need to hydrate before every work shift, acclimatizing employees when they come from cooler areas to work, and providing shaded spaces to seek refuge,” the report said.