Marc Pfeiffer, assistant director of the Bloustein Local Government Research Center at Rutgers University, said payouts were once a benefit for public employees whose salaries were typically lower than those of their private-sector counterparts. And being able to bank those days discouraged employees from taking their sick and vacation time, he said.
“No one ever had a real reason to put it aside, because the numbers weren’t that great,” Pfeiffer said. “But clearly as time has gone on, salaries have increased … and it’s become a very expensive benefit.”
