Seems like a bit of a National Labor Relations Act violation. Bizzare how the more defensive a company gets the more it is likely to violate labor laws.
"To the contrary, our thorough investigation found the individuals were involved in systematic searches for other employees’ materials and work. This includes searching for, accessing, and distributing business information outside the scope of their jobs — repeating this conduct even after they were met with and reminded about our data security policies. This information, along with details of internal emails and inaccurate descriptions about Googlers’ work, was subsequently shared externally."
That would be grounds for termination in most countries.