FAIRFIELD — Civil libertarians are questioning the constitutionality of a new policy in Fairfield that governs the actions of town employees on social media websites.

The policy forbids town employees from posting obscene or sexually explicit language or images, or anything that negatively affects the public perception of the town. It also asks town workers who become aware of a posting that violates the policy to notify their supervisor.

Town Manager Joshua Reny tells WABI-TV (http://bit.ly/1bIoXpo ) the rules were instituted after some residents expressed concern about town employee Facebook postings.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine says just because somebody works for the government doesn’t mean they give up their First Amendment rights. The ACLU says what town employees do in their private time is not the town government’s concern.