Formed out of Executive Order 8802, which promised federal support for equal opportunity in the workforce, the Committee on Fair Employment Practices investigated charges of racial discrimination in war-related jobs. One such complaint was lodged by John Reed, who charged that the TVA did not hire any African American carpenters: "There is a reason why there are no Negroes employed as carpenters on any of the dams and I feel that if such conditions are to continue, it should be dealt with fairly…" After almost two years of correspondence, the TVA finally closed the case in September 1945, declaring that there was insufficient evidence. Additional records reveal that when the Authority did hire black workers, such as at the Fontana Dam construction site, they were met with hostility by their white co-workers.