The California Supreme Court jumped into a high-stakes dispute over public employee pensions Tuesday, agreeing to decide whether laws aimed at limiting preretirement actions to inflate future benefits can be applied to millions of government workers. A state appeals court in San Francisco ruled in a Marin County case in August that the new laws could be applied to current employees — a potentially major setback for the workers and their unions, and a victory for local governments facing mounting deficits in their pension plans. But the state’s high court voted unanimously Tuesday to put that ruling on hold while it reviews the issue for a future statewide resolution. The new laws were intended to curb pension “spiking,” the practice of boosting retirement benefits by increasing an employee’s pay during the final years of employment.