The New York City Council has set aside $2.5 million to support legal service providers in the city representing workers who say they have fallen victim to wage theft, which by some estimates results in $1 billion in lost wages each year.

The city will use the funds, included in the city’s budget for its 2018-19 fiscal year, to support legal service providers like the Legal Aid Society in representing workers who were paid below minimum wage or cheated on overtime—disputes that might get passed up by private law firms, especially in cases involving low-income litigants, said City Councilman Rory Lancman, who chairs the council’s Courts and Legal Services Committee.