Thousands of Denver recovered more than $2 million in unpaid wages, which is nearly double what was returned last year.

The amount is a record, the city auditor’s office said.

Denver Labor, a division in the auditor’s office, said the $2,043,086 that the city recovered helped 3,500 people pay their bills and support their families.

“All this money goes directly back to the workers and factors into our final restitution amount,” the auditor’s office said in a news release.

From Nov. 1 of last year to Oct. 31 this year, Denver Labor’s wage and restitutions teams closed nearly 600 cases. That’s 100 more closed cases compared to last year, the auditor’s office said, adding Denver Labor hopes to also resolve nearly 160 cases soon.

“Every case is important to our team, big or small, because every worker matters to our community,” City Auditor Timothy O’Brien said in a statement. “My Denver Labor team is a national example of how to do this work the right way — by engaging both workers and businesses in pursuit of shared positive outcomes.”

The auditor’s office helped recover $1,101,738 last year, the previous record. In 2015, that number stood at $84,232.

Denver Labor enforces wage theft, minimum wage and prevailing wage laws.

“Wage theft is not just a problem for workers; it’s theft from the whole community,” Denver Labor Executive Director Matthew Fritz-Mauer said. “People need the money they’ve earned to pay for rent, school, daycare, food, and more. When workers have their wages stolen, families and communities suffer.”

Violations of wage theft include not meeting minimum wage, overtime pay, paid sick time, rest breaks and time off, the city auditor’s office said.

Denver will raise its minimum wage from $17.29 to $18.29 per hour starting in January.