The Department of Justice Tuesday let a deadline pass to appeal a 2005 judgment involving a transgender female who lost a job offer at the Library of Congress while transitioning from male to female. The decision awarded Diane Schroer, a retired Army Special Forces commander, $491,190 in compensation after a job offer was rescinded once she told Library of Congress officials she was transitioning from male to female.

In 2005 the American Civil Liberties Union defended Schroer, arguing the government was guilty of sex discrimination, and citing the Civil Rights Act of 1965. The Bush Administration had unsuccessfully argued against any claim of discrimination, saying that transsexuality was not covered under the law.

This decision fits President Obama’s promise to protect transgender federal workers from discrimination in the workplace, according to the ACLU, and comes at a time when Obama has been criticized as not being aggressive enough on LGBT issues. To Schroer, the decision, “gives me renewed hope and restores some of my shaken faith in what our country stands for,” she told the New York Times.

Congressman Barney Frank introduced a trans-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act last week.