The government shutdown is now in its second month, which means thousands of federal employees have been working for weeks without pay.
A Western New York man is offering a little hope for those local workers.
Ray Turpin owns the Safety and Health Center, a nonprofit that specializes in health and occupational training. Students usually pay hundreds of dollars to take a course, but Turpin is offering it to furloughed workers for free.
“We have three weeks in a row where we're going to have courses for federal employees,” said Turpin.
The furlough is hitting close to home for Turpin. His son is currently working without pay as a federal employee in Florida.
The course runs for five days, 40 hours total.
“At the conclusion, they can walk out of here and go to work that night,” says Turpin.
He says five companies have agreed to hire certified workers right away.
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