Monterey >>A Greenfield-based labor contractor has been ordered to pay $2.6 million in damages to farmworkers who were exploited while working in Monterey County fields, but it remains unclear when the workers will get the money.

Salvador Zavala Chavez, who was sued in October 2012 by the California Labor Commissioner’s Office, declared bankruptcy in November. His bankruptcy will likely extend the process farmworkers will have to go through to collect their share of the settlement.

“He is bankrupt, so those who were workers and didn’t get paid should collect their money from the Labor Commissioner’s Office,” said Peter Melton, a spokesman with the department.

The federal lawsuit stems from a Labor Commissioner’s investigation and complaints from more than 150 farmworkers who were employed by Chavez to work at more than 10 locations — mostly in Monterey County lettuce and grape fields.

The state claimed, and the settlement asserted, Chavez violated federal minimum wage rules, failed to pay thousands of dollars in overtime and altered workers’ time records. Employees also said the facilities lacked toilets and about 14 employees were fired after complaining about not getting paid.

This went on from April 2009 through April 2012. It was not until March 2012 that workers reported the claims and the state became aware of it.

“This lawsuit is but one example of our commitment to conducting in-depth, meaningful inspections to get the wages earned into workers’ pockets,” Labor Commissioner Julie Su, who filed the suit on behalf of workers, said in a statement. “When workers come forward, as these farmworkers have done, to tell us about illegal working conditions, we will take action to protect them.”

When the state conducted an inspection on Zavala Farms, evidence showed documents provided to the state were altered to hide the “existence of workers and the true (numbers) of hours worked,” according to the complaint.

“The workers would often work more than 10 hours per day picking lettuce and working in grape fields without overtime pay or an afternoon rest break,” the complaint said.

In his first court appearance on April 2013, Chavez opted not to go to trial, but the case was beset by delays.

Melton said Chavez required all court documents be translated from English to Spanish, which delayed the date for the case’s resolution. In November, when the case was expected to be resolved, a tentative $1.2 million settlement was expected, but the court gave Chavez more time to look over the agreement, which had yet to be translated.

On Friday, the court ordered Chavez to pay $2.6 million to the farmworkers he employed and hadn’t paid over the years — a $1.4 million boost from what was discussed in November.

Although employees received a heftier award, Chavez remains bankrupt.

Employees will have to go through the Labor Commissioner’s Farm Labor Contractor Fund to get their money, Melton said.

“Bankruptcy gives him certain protections and it’s unclear what his assets, if any, are, but he has agreed that he is liable for $2.6 million,” Melton said. “(Workers) will have to come to us for their money.”

Su said that on top of the suit working to pay Chavez’s employees their deserved wages, it also sought injunctive relief to stop Zavala Farms from engaging in future violations of the law.

Ana Ceballos can be reached at 726-4377.