On the morning of Sept. 15, 2018, 40 farmworkers at Riggs Brothers Farm stood up out of bed into water. Hurricane Florence made landfall in eastern North Carolina the night before, and they were waiting out the storm in their labor camp in Jones County. They scrambled to grab their belongings and waded out the door into waist-high water before spending hours calling 911 and farmworker advocates. Their boss, farm owner Randy Riggs, never showed up.
To rescue them, attorneys and the U.S. Department of Labor had to intervene. When someone finally opened the door, water rushed in even higher, said one worker, Romero, who asked to use an alias to protect his identity because he fears retaliation from his employers. The refrigerator and appliances started floating.