Virginia Law

A. The applicant or licensee will receive a notice of the department's intent to impose an administrative sanction. This notice will describe the sanctions and the reasons for the imposition. Service of the notice of adverse action is achieved by certified mailing of the notice to the applicant or licensee, unless service is made by other means and acknowledged by the applicant or licensee. If the applicant or licensee wishes to appeal the notice of adverse action, he shall have 15 days after receipt of the notice to note his appeal.

B. Upon receipt of the notice to impose an administrative sanction, the applicant or licensee has the right to appeal the decision in accordance with the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq. of the Code of Virginia). The procedures for filing an appeal will be outlined in the notice. The applicant or licensee shall submit any appeal of imposition of an administrative sanction in writing within 15 days of receipt of the notice.

C. If the applicant or licensee fails to appeal the notice of adverse action within 15 days of receipt of the notice, the final order will be entered. The decision will take effect 30 days after receipt of the notice.

D. The appeal process available is governed by law. Where the sanction is imposed by means of a special order as provided in § 63.2-1709.2 of the Code of Virginia, the case decision is issued by the commissioner following findings and conclusions resulting from the informal conference. Other sanctions include a provision for an administrative hearing, which is described in § 2.2-4020 of the Code of Virginia, prior to the issuance of the case decision. For ease of reference, the process steps are displayed in the following chart:

E. A final order of summary suspension for an assisted living facility or child welfare agency not operated by an agency of the Commonwealth shall include notice that the licensee may appeal the commissioner's decision to the appropriate circuit court no later than 10 days following service of the order.

1. The sole issue before the court shall be whether the commissioner had reasonable grounds to require the licensee to cease operations during the pendency of the concurrent revocation, denial, or other proceedings.

2. The concurrent revocation, denial, or other proceedings shall not be affected by the outcome of any hearing on the appropriateness of the summary suspension.