For years, women at the Home Depot store in Pomona, Calif., complained that they were funneled into cashier jobs while their male co-workers landed higher-paying sales jobs. As a federal contractor, however, the company is obligated to offer equal opportunities to all job applicants and employees. Under a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor, the store has agreed to pay $83,400, which will be split by 46 women who applied for positions and either were not hired or were placed in cashier positions instead of sales associate jobs. “If you do business with the federal government, the law requires you to hire and promote people according to skills and experience, not gender,” said Patricia Shiu, director of the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. Home Depot did not admit liability, but as part of the settlement, the store agreed to hire or promote five women to sales associate positions.