In a series of reforms more than a decade ago, the state Legislature set strict limits on when and how much local government employees could be paid for unused sick leave, as well as how much vacation time they could collect when they walked out the door. But in a new study released Thursday, the Office of the State Comptroller found that nearly all the municipalities it surveyed not only failed to comply with those laws, but in some cases might be deliberately ignoring them. “It is very likely that the policies of hundreds of local governments in New Jersey are in violation of the sick and va…
