Cite as: 515 U. S. 323 (1995)
Opinion of the Court
gross income the amount received in settlement of a claim for backpay and liquidated damages under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA).
I
Erich Schleier (respondent) 1 is a former employee of United Airlines, Inc. (United). Pursuant to established policy, United fired respondent when he reached the age of 60. Respondent then filed a complaint in Federal District Court alleging that his termination violated the ADEA.
The ADEA "broadly prohibits arbitrary discrimination in the workplace based on age." Lorillard v. Pons, 434 U. S. 575, 577 (1978); Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Thurston, 469 U. S. 111, 120 (1985); see also McKennon v. Nashville Banner Publishing Co., 513 U. S. 352, 357 (1995). Subject to certain defenses, see 29 U. S. C. § 623(f) (1988 ed. and Supp. V), §§ 4 and 12 of the ADEA make it unlawful for an employer, inter alia, to discharge any individual between the ages of 40 and 70 "because of such individual's age." 29 U. S. C. §§ 623(a)(1), 631(a). The ADEA incorporates many of the enforcement and remedial mechanisms of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA). Like the FLSA, the ADEA provides for "such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to effectuate the purposes of this chapter." 29 U. S. C. § 626(b). That relief may include "without limitation judgments compelling employment, reinstatement or promotion." Ibid. More importantly for respondent's purposes, the ADEA incorporates FLSA provisions that permit the recovery "of wages lost and an additional equal amount as liquidated damages." § 216(b). See generally McKennon, 513 U. S., at 357.
1 Helen Schleier is also a respondent because she and her husband Erich filed a joint return.
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