Fired? The clock started the moment they said it.

HR sounded kind. They are not on your side. The severance says "sign by Friday." You probably have weeks. And that "role elimination"? Sometimes the same title is posted a month later at a lower salary, or handed to the person you were told to train.

This is the playbook the other side hopes you never read.

Inside:

• HR Is Not Your Friend: what the sweet talk really means, why nothing is off the record, and the outplacement trap
• Replaced by someone cheaper? Offshoring, H-1B and "train your replacement": when it's legal, when it isn't, and the public government data you can search tonight
• The Burn Scale: every move you have, rated from BURN 0 (they never know) to BURN 4 (scorched earth), plus the moves that turn you into the defendant
• Severance: the real market benchmark, what they legally can't gag, and what to negotiate beyond cash
• Out Is Not Out: COBRA, the 401(k) vesting rules most people forfeit, the Rule of 55, stock options, life insurance, and the records they must keep
• Filing with half the story: how to file a charge when you can't see the evidence, without letting HR paint you as a conspiracy theorist
• The deadlines that silently end your claim, word-for-word scripts, and a one-page checklist

Built on real cases and current 2026 rules, with every source listed so you can check it yourself.

Don't sign anything tonight. Read this first.

This book is general information, not legal advice. US employment law varies by state.