All employers who hire persons 40 years or older are required by law to adhere to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Mandatory retirement, in almost all cases, is illegal, and an employer does not have the right to force an older employee to retire. Employees that are exempt from the ADEA mandatory retirement laws are police officers and firefighters. Legislation, passed in 1996, allows for public employers to have maximum hiring ages and mandatory retirement ages for law enforcement officers and firefighters. This, however, isn't mandatory. The ADEA laws apply to employees that are 40 years or older, and work for a business that employs 20 or more employees.