Employers are using digital tools to track workers' locations, productivity, and communications.

These tools became common during the pandemic.

Experts say recent advances in artificial intelligence allow employers to build detailed data sets about employees.

Wilneida Negrón, from the nonprofit Coworker, said workers with the least power are often the first to face intrusive data collection.

Pharmacist Lannie Duong said her employer tracked the length of her calls and appointments.

She felt pressured and hopeless, and she said her employment ended after she took medical leave.

Arianna Anaya, a college teacher, discovered that an administrator read her private comments on student essays.

She said the school used the online learning system to read personal student work, and her teaching contract was not renewed.

Some states, including New York, Connecticut, Delaware, and Maine, require employers to notify workers about monitoring.

Maine also bans visual monitoring in homes or personal vehicles unless the job requires it.

In other states, it is hard to know if an employer is watching.

Experts suggest asking managers or the IT department what data is collected.

To protect personal information, experts advise not using work devices for sensitive matters like medical issues.

Hayley Tsukayama, from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said workers should expect some monitoring on workplace machines.

She suggested coordinating with a union to raise concerns.

Aiha Nguyen, from Data & Society, noted that tracking features in common software may not always be active, but it can be hard to tell.