I'm a very private person, but I work in an office where everyone seems to nose into each other's business, share any juicy tidbits with others, and go around dispensing unwanted advice. Just in case I need to protect myself, can you tell me the legal meaning of "invasion of privacy?"

Invasion of privacy wasn't "invented" as a legal concept until the 20th Century. The human urge to nose into other people's business is hardly new -- but it took the wife of a famous judge to turn it into a legal issue. It seems that the judge's wife was upset because a journalist had been snooping at a private party. When the judge's wife complained, he told her there were no laws against snooping. Later, after thinking about it, the judge wrote an article on the "right to privacy" and from that developed a series of rules.

The right to privacy refers to your right to be left alone. There are several different ways a person's right to privacy can be invaded. The most common privacy invasions recognized by law are as follows:

False Light. This type of invasion of privacy occurs when an individual is falsely portrayed in a highly offensive manner -- for example, when the photograph of a man who has never committed a crime is posted on the "America's Most Wanted" website.

Disclosure of Private Facts. This type of invasion occurs when private or embarrassing facts are revealed about an individual without relation to a legitimate public concern. For example, let's say that a man who had served time for a robbery 20 years earlier rehabilitated himself and is now a pastor. Publication of the facts of the 20-year old robbery would be an invasion of privacy unless there was a related public interest -- for example, the pastor was again arrested for a crime.

Intrusion. This is where someone intrudes upon a person in a situation in which that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy -- for example, by spying on the person at home, secretly eavesdropping on telephone conversations, or opening the person's mail.

Every state has its own set of rules for invasion of privacy. You may have to do some further research to determine whether a specific act constitutes an invasion of privacy in your state. (Nolo's Legal Research area can take you to your state's laws.) If your privacy has been invaded, talk to your office supervisor or human resources department -- neither one will want a lawsuit from you, and should take steps to stop the nosiness.

To learn more about your right to privacy in the workplace, check out Your Rights in the Workplace, by Barbara Kate Repa (Nolo).