For weeks, thousands of federal employees have been waiting for the Supreme Court to make a decision about their continued employment with the government. On Tuesday, they got their answer: The Trump administration could move ahead with mass layoffs.

The question of whether the layoffs are legal remains unanswered. For now, workers remain in limbo, this time waiting for their agencies to decide who stays, who goes and when.

President Trump in February issued an executive order calling for mass layoffs at nearly every government agency, but the directive invited some legal challenges that led to federal workers staying in their jobs temporarily, or at least collecting a paycheck and health benefits.

Many government employees have described the protracted uncertainty as a stressful, nightmarish slog.

And many knew that any relief was likely temporary. For months, a number of them have described being scared to open their government emails, anticipating that they would learn they had been fired. Many feared that speaking out would put a target on their backs.

One employee at the Environmental Protection Agency, which has not announced a detailed plan for layoffs, said that she and her colleagues were waiting to hear about what the Supreme Court’s move meant for them. Like others still employed by the government, she spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.