Employers are using digital tools to watch where workers are, how much they work, and what they say.

These tools became common during the pandemic.

Experts say new artificial intelligence helps employers build big sets of information about workers.

Wilneida Negrón, from the nonprofit Coworker, said workers with the least power are often the first to face this watching.

Pharmacist Lannie Duong said her employer tracked how long her calls and appointments took.

She felt pressure and hopelessness.

She said her job ended after she took medical leave.

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

She said the school used the online learning system to read personal student work.

Her teaching contract was not renewed.

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

Maine also stops visual monitoring in homes or personal cars unless the job needs it.

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

Experts say to ask managers or the IT department what data is collected.

To protect personal information, experts say not to use work devices for private things like medical issues.

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

She said to work with a union to raise concerns.

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