The New Jersey Supreme Court has agreed to hear the state's appeal in the case of a worker who was granted unemployment benefits after she left one job for a better-paying one, only to find later that the second job disappeared.

The Appellate Division's August 2017 decision in McClain v. Board of Review granting the petitioner unemployment benefits stands in direct contrast to a separate, earlier appeals court ruling that denied benefits to a petitioner in similar circumstances.

Because of the conflicting Appellate Division rulings, it was expected that the Supreme Court would weigh in on the issue. The court granted certification March 9.

Each case required the court to address whether a worker who voluntarily leaves a job on the promise of a better-paying one loses unemployment benefits if the second job doesn't pan out.

In the McClain ruling last August, an Appellate Division panel made up of Judges Francis Vernoia, Mitchel Ostrer and Scott Moynihan granted unemployment benefits. Vernoia, writing for that panel, said the worker doesn't lose out on benefits if, for a reason not of his or her fault, the second job disappears or is no longer available.