The rapper was ordered to pay the contractor $140,000 for lost wages and medical expenses in connection with the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Plaintiff Tony Saxon maintained that Ye, 48, agreed to pay him $20,000 per week under a 2021 deal, but only turned over one $20,000 payment and $100,000 for constructions costs.
Saxon's attorney's called it a mixed verdict, saying jurors awarded Saxon much less than the $1.7 million he wanted.
Ye will also be required to pay the attorney fee, which is more than $1 million.
The lawsuit stems from when Saxon was involved in the remodel of Ye's $57 million seaside mansion in Malibu.
Ye took the stand in this case last week but said very little. He also appeared at times to fall asleep.
Saxon sued Ye for wrongful termination, lost wages and personal injury that he claims happened while working on the project.
"He wasn't compensated for his injuries because Ye didn't have work comp insurance and as a result, they're gonna have to pay our attorney fees and cost under the labor code and that can add up," Neama Rahmani, an attorney for Saxon, said outside the courthouse.
A statement from a spokesperson for Ye said Saxon acted in the capacity of a contractor.
"Under California law, an unlicensed contractor cannot recover compensation for work requiring a license. Based on those findings, we believe the damages award is legally barred and will be seeking post-trial relief from the court," the spokesperson's statement said in part.
Shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday, the jury announced it had reached a verdict, and Judge Brock T. Hammond sent the jurors home due to the late hour.
In testimony on Friday, Ye testified that he didn't know if he was the CEO of one of his companies, Yeezy Construction.
"I'm not sure" was his reply to the question from Saxon's lead lawyer, Ronald Zambrano.
In his lawsuit, Saxon maintained he was forced to sleep on the mansion floor while acting as a security guard and was fired in November 2021 for not complying with Ye's "dangerous requests" that could cause the plaintiff to be injured.
Saxon said he often complained to Ye about various alleged dangers during the remodeling. Saxon claimed that workers unsafely demolished parts of the house with no safety equipment, adding that Ye took no action addressing the complaints.
The day Ye fired Saxon, the rapper told him, "If you don't do what I say, you're not going to work for me, I'm not gonna be your friend anymore and you'll just see me on TV," according to the lawsuit filed in September 2023.
When Saxon replied, "I don't watch TV," Ye said, "Leave," the lawssuit stated.
In October, Hammond ruled that Ye should pay Saxon $3,320 in sanctions. An attorney for the plaintiff stated in his court papers that the rapper failed to abide by code requirements by delaying serving verified responses to Saxon's interrogatories posed to him in 2023.
City News Service contributed to this report.