For municipal employees in New Jersey it's the latter, according to a report by the state's Commission of Investigation. The Commission's investigation into waste in public employee benefit programs found that about 80 percent of state governments examined were guilty of providing "questionable and/or excessive benefits of one sort or another" to certain groups of employees.

In Hoboken, for example, police personnel can qualify for up to five days of paid leave for donating blood, and certain employees can receive between $700 and $1,500 per year for perfect attendance.

The report also called out Union City for its excessive paid-time off. All permanent civilian municipal employees in Union City receive "one day's leave at full pay every year for Christmas shopping," according to the report. And that's in addition to five personal days, 16 paid holidays, and between 10 and 25 days of vacation, depending on how long the employee has worked for the city. Additionally, Union City employees can qualify for a $200 bonus for using no sick leave in a year.