LEV530 Q: May firms monitor worker emails? A: There is no doubt that it is proper and even vital to keep an eye on workers to make sure that they are doing their job. The Talmud suggests ironically that someone who inherits a lot of money and wants to lose it quickly should hire workers and fail to supervise them. Bava Metzia 29b It also assures us that someone who personally surveys his affairs each day, including the behavior of workers, is guaranteed to benefit. Chullin 105a However, intrusive monitoring can violate a worker's privacy. The fact that someone is at work doesn't make his or her every move the concern of the employer. Employers have an ethical responsibility to monitor in a responsible way. This responsibility has two aspects, the "what" and the "how": 1. Not to have an excessive amount of monitoring; 2. Not to use the information gleaned from monitoring in an in equitable or otherwise improper way. We can get some idea of where to draw the line from a fascinating insight of the renowned seventeen century legal authority, Rabbi Yaakov Hagiz. Noting that gossip is strictly forbidden in Jewish law, according to the verse, "Don't go about as a talebearer" [this verse], Rabbi Hagiz concludes that just as it is forbidden to disclose private information to others by gossiping, so it is forbidden to reveal such information to ourselves by prying. "It is forbidden to pursue and seek the private affairs of one's fellow, for what is the difference between gossiping to others or to oneself?" Responsa Halakhot Ketanot 1:276. We can complete the picture by presenting the basic ethical principle regarding gossip or slander: Only information that is essential to preventing substantive damage may be disclosed to the vulnerable party and only if the information will be used in a responsible way.