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Docket Number

Record No. 150977

Attorney(S)

Henry W. McLaughlin ; Drew D. Sarrett (Law Office of Henry McLaughlin, on briefs), Richmond, for appellant. Robert W. Loftin (Christopher M. Michalik ; Summer L. Speight ; McGuireWoods, on brief), Richmond, for appellee.

Judges

Elizabeth A. McClanahan

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Smart Summary

Summary of Opinion: Yvonne Harris Andrews v. Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority

Factual and Procedural Background

Yvonne Harris Andrews was employed by the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA) as a senior property manager. RRHA terminated her employment for alleged violations of its Standards of Conduct Policy No. 3.1. Andrews filed a grievance under RRHA's internal Grievance Policy No. 3.2, and after exhausting internal remedies requested a hearing before an administrative hearing officer.

Following a three-day hearing, the hearing officer found RRHA had improperly applied its policies, acted in bad faith in terminating Andrews, and ordered Andrews reinstated with full back pay. Section VII.E. of RRHA's Grievance Policy stated that either party may appeal the hearing officer's decision to the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond.

RRHA appealed the hearing officer's decision to the circuit court, citing Code § 2.2–3006 of the State Grievance Procedure and arguing the hearing officer's decision was "contradictory to law" because, RRHA contended, the hearing officer had created or rewritten RRHA policy and had exceeded her authority — asserting in particular that the hearing officer's decision conflicted with Code § 15.2–1507(A)(10)(a)(6). Andrews opposed the appeal on the merits (defending the hearing officer's interpretation of RRHA policies) but did not initially challenge the circuit court's subject matter jurisdiction.

The circuit court reversed the hearing officer, concluding it had jurisdiction under Code § 2.2–3006 and that the hearing officer's decision was contradictory to law. Andrews appealed the circuit court's judgment to the Court of Appeals, which transferred the case to the Supreme Court of Virginia for a determination of subject matter jurisdiction. The Supreme Court granted review limited to whether the circuit court had subject matter jurisdiction to consider RRHA's appeal.

Legal Issues Presented

Whether the circuit court had subject matter jurisdiction to hear RRHA's appeal of the hearing officer's decision under Code § 2.2–3006 of the State Grievance Procedure.
Whether Code § 15.2–1507 (the statute governing grievance procedures for local governments and certain authorities) controlled RRHA's grievance procedure in a way that would preclude judicial review by the circuit court.

Arguments of the Parties

Appellant (Andrews)

Andrews argued that Code § 15.2–1507 controls RRHA's grievance procedure and that, under that statute, RRHA did not have the right to seek judicial review of the hearing officer's decision via an appeal to the circuit court (i.e., the circuit court lacked subject matter jurisdiction).
On the merits (before the jurisdictional issue was fully presented), Andrews argued the hearing officer correctly interpreted RRHA's personnel policies and that the record supported the hearing officer's findings and remedy. Andrews did not initially assert lack of subject matter jurisdiction in the circuit court.

Appellee (RRHA)

RRHA invoked Code § 2.2–3006 of the State Grievance Procedure and appealed the hearing officer's decision to the circuit court on the ground that the decision was "contradictory to law."
RRHA argued the hearing officer had ignored or rewritten RRHA's written personnel policies, and therefore the decision exceeded the hearing officer's authority and contradicted law. In support, RRHA pointed to Code § 15.2–1507(A)(10)(a)(6) as limiting a hearing officer's authority to render decisions that must be "consistent with provisions of law and written policy."
RRHA's written notice of appeal and its submissions to the circuit court framed its challenge primarily as an interpretation/application dispute regarding RRHA policies (e.g., claims that the hearing officer improperly required progressive discipline, misallocated who should recommend termination, and imposed procedural requirements not found in policy).

Table of Precedents Cited

Precedent	Rule or Principle Cited For	Application by the Court
Earley v. Landsidle	Definition and non-waivability of subject matter jurisdiction.	Quoted to establish that subject matter jurisdiction is statutory/constitutional and cannot be conferred or waived by litigants.
Morrison v. Bestler	Support for the definition/importance of subject matter jurisdiction.	Cited in the same context as Earley to explain jurisdictional principles.
Virginian–Pilot Media Cos. v. Dow Jones & Co.	Principle that subject matter jurisdiction cannot be conferred by the litigants and that jurisdictional challenges cannot be waived.	Used to support the proposition that lack of subject matter jurisdiction may be raised at any time and cannot be waived.
In re: Commonwealth	Authority for the non-waivability of subject matter jurisdiction.	Cited as supporting authority for jurisdictional rules (nonwaivable).
Nelson v. Warden of the Keen Mt. Corr. Ctr.	Lack of subject matter jurisdiction may be raised at any time, by any court.	Invoked to show courts may consider jurisdiction sua sponte and that challenges may be raised at any stage.
Humphreys v. Commonwealth	Historical support that lack of jurisdiction can be raised anytime.	Cited to reinforce the longstanding rule that jurisdictional challenges are not time-barred.
Glasser & Glasser, PLC v. Jack Bays, Inc.	Standard that subject matter jurisdiction questions are issues of law reviewed de novo.	Used to justify de novo appellate review of the jurisdictional question.
REVI, LLC v. Chicago Title Ins. Co.	Statutory interpretation is reviewed de novo.	Supported the court's choice to engage in de novo statutory interpretation of the competing statutes.
Eberhardt v. Fairfax County Emples. Ret. Sys. Bd. of Trs.	Question of statutory interpretation subject to de novo review.	Cited to support the de novo review principle for statutory questions.
Kiser v. A.W. Chesterton Co.	Plain meaning dictates statutory construction; courts must apply plain language as written.	Applied to interpret Code § 15.2–1507(A)(4) by giving effect to its plain terms.
BBF, Inc. v. Alstom Power, Inc.	Support for applying the plain meaning of statutes and not adding or ignoring language.	Used to reinforce principles of statutory construction invoked in interpreting § 15.2–1507.
Barr v. Town & Country Props., Inc.	When legislature uses plain, definite words courts must not construe them differently.	Cited in support of adhering to the plain meaning of statutory language.
Deutsche Bank Nat'l Trust Co. v. Arrington	Preference for the plain, obvious, and rational meaning of a statute over strained constructions.	Applied to decline a hybrid or strained reading of § 15.2–1507(A)(4) that would conflate statutory schemes.
Virginia Polytechnic Inst. & State Univ. v. Quesenberry	Explains the State Grievance Procedure as a plainly stated statutory framework and that only 'contradictory to law' portions are judicially reviewable; hearing officer factfinder, DHRM decides consistency with policy.	Used as central authority for the limited scope of judicial review under the State Grievance Procedure and for the distinction between questions of law (reviewable by courts) and questions of policy (reviewed administratively).
Burke v. Catawba Hosp.	The grievance review structure allows executive branch latitude; circuit courts lack jurisdiction to review policy questions.	Relied upon to demonstrate circuit courts' limited role and lack of jurisdiction over policy interpretation disputes.
Virginia Dept. of State Police v. Barton	The State Grievance Procedure is a matter of legislative grace and the narrow standard of judicial review focuses solely on whether the decision is contradictory to law.	Used to underscore the narrowness of circuit court review and the limited nature of judicial oversight under Code § 2.2–3006.
Commonwealth v. Needham	Under the State Grievance Procedure, appeals from a hearing officer's interpretation of policy go to the director of DHRM, not the circuit court.	Applied to show that RRHA's challenge, being a policy-interpretation dispute, was appropriate for internal administrative review rather than circuit court review.
Tatum v. Virginia Dep't. of Agric.	Quoted in Quesenberry regarding limits on judicial review under the State Grievance Procedure.	Referenced as part of the body of authority establishing the non-judicial nature of policy-consistency determinations.
Murray v. Stokes	Legislative grace in structuring state grievance process and any right of appeal.	Invoked to support the contention that the General Assembly may narrowly define review rights under the State Grievance Procedure.
Richmond Redevelopment & Hous. Auth. v. Laburnum Const. Corp.	Background on RRHA as a political subdivision and statutory definitions relevant to agencies and authorities.	Used to clarify statutory definitions and context for RRHA as an entity addressed by Code § 15.2–1507.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The Supreme Court's analysis proceeded in several discrete steps:

Jurisdictional Principles: The Court began by reiterating settled jurisdictional principles: subject matter jurisdiction is a statutory/constitutional grant that cannot be waived by the parties and may be raised at any time. The Court therefore accepted Andrews' belated jurisdictional challenge for review.
Standard of Review: The Court applied de novo review to the purely legal question whether the circuit court had statutory authority to entertain RRHA's appeal.
Interpretation of Code § 15.2–1507(A)(4): The Court construed subsection (A)(4) using plain-meaning principles. That provision permits a redevelopment and housing authority either (i) to be included in a locality's grievance procedure by agreement, or (ii) to establish its own grievance procedure "which is consistent with" the State Grievance Procedure (Chapter 30 of Title 2.2). The Court held that the plain text requires an authority that opts for its own grievance procedure to make that procedure consistent with the State Grievance Procedure; nothing in the language requires the authority's procedure to also be consistent with the other provisions of Code § 15.2–1507 that govern localities' grievance procedures.
Incompatibility of the Two Statutory Schemes: The Court observed that the State Grievance Procedure and the local-government-focused § 15.2–1507 contain divergent features — most importantly differing provisions concerning the right to judicial review. Because the two schemes diverge on that critical point, the Court rejected any construction that would conflate or hybridize the statutes. The Court emphasized that statutory construction must avoid strained or curious readings and adhere to plain language.
Application of Code § 2.2–3006: The Court concluded that, because RRHA chose to adopt its own grievance procedure under the second option of § 15.2–1507(A)(4), RRHA's grievance procedure is governed by and must be consistent with the State Grievance Procedure, including Code § 2.2–3006. Under § 2.2–3006, the circuit court may hear an appeal only on the narrow ground that the hearing officer's determination is "contradictory to law"; questions whether the hearing officer's decision is "consistent with policy" are for the Director of DHRM or their counterpart at the authority (i.e., administrative review), not for the circuit court.
Application to the Present Appeal: RRHA framed its appeal as a challenge to the hearing officer's interpretation and application of RRHA's personnel policies — i.e., a policy-interpretation dispute. RRHA's notice of appeal and briefs identified alleged errors about progressive discipline, who must recommend termination, timing to dispute discipline, and documentation obligations — all disputes over policy interpretation. Because such disputes fall within the "consistency with policy" track rather than the "contradictory to law" track under § 2.2–3006, the circuit court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to hear RRHA's appeal.
Inconsistency of RRHA's Grievance Policy: The Court explicitly noted that Section VII.E. of RRHA's Grievance Policy (which purported to allow either party to appeal to the circuit court broadly and permitted the court to affirm the hearing officer unless the decision was contrary to RRHA policy) was inconsistent with Code § 2.2–3006, because it expanded the right of judicial review beyond the narrow "contradictory to law" standard. Under § 15.2–1507(A)(4), RRHA's nonconforming provision is deemed adopted inconsistent with the State Grievance Procedure and the State Grievance Procedure controls.

Holding and Implications

REVERSED AND DISMISSED

Holding: The Supreme Court of Virginia held that the circuit court lacked subject matter jurisdiction under the controlling statute, Code § 2.2–3006, to entertain RRHA's appeal of the hearing officer's decision. Accordingly, the Supreme Court reversed the circuit court's judgment, reinstated the hearing officer's decision ordering Andrews' reinstatement with full back pay, and dismissed RRHA's appeal.

Implications:

The direct effect is the reinstatement of the hearing officer's decision in favor of Andrews and the dismissal of RRHA's circuit court appeal.
The decision clarifies that, when a redevelopment and housing authority elects to establish its own grievance procedure under Code § 15.2–1507(A)(4), that procedure must be "consistent with" the State Grievance Procedure (Code § 2.2–3000 et seq.), and that the scope of judicial review is governed by Code § 2.2–3006: courts may review only whether a hearing officer's determination is "contradictory to law," not whether it is "consistent with policy."
The opinion does not purport to create a new doctrine beyond its statutory interpretation and application to the facts of this case; rather it enforces the existing statutory allocation of administrative versus judicial review under the State Grievance Procedure.

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Y v. nne Harris Andrews

OPINION BY JUSTICE ELIZABETH A. McCLANAHAN

Henry W. McLaughlin ; Drew D. Sarrett (Law Office of Henry McLaughlin, on briefs), Richmond, for appellant.

Robert W. Loftin (Christopher M. Michalik ; Summer L. Speight ; McGuireWoods, on brief), Richmond, for appellee.

Present: All the Justices

Opinion

OPINION BY JUSTICE ELIZABETH A. McCLANAHAN

Yvonne Harris Andrews challenged the termination of her employment with the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing

Authority (RRHA) through RRHA's grievance procedure and a hearing officer ordered her reinstatement. On RRHA's appeal, the circuit court reversed the hearing officer's decision as “ ‘contradictory to law’ ” under Code § 2.2–3006. In the present appeal, Andrews contends Code § 15.2–1507 is controlling, and under this statute the circuit court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to hear RRHA's appeal. We conclude the circuit court did lack subject matter jurisdiction, but based on the applicable provisions of both Code §§ 2.2–3006 and 15.2–1507, and thus reverse the judgment of the circuit court.

I. BACKGROUND

Andrews was employed by RRHA as a senior property manager of a public housing complex in the City of Richmond. RRHA terminated Andrews' employment based on its determination that she had committed several violations of RRHA's Standards of

Conduct Policy No. 3.1 (“Standards of Conduct”). Andrews challenged the termination under RRHA's Grievance Policy No. 3.2 (“Grievance Policy”) by claiming that RRHA had unfairly applied the Standards of Conduct to her. After exhausting the internal remedies available under the Grievance Policy, Andrews requested a hearing before an administrative hearing officer. Following a three-day hearing, the hearing officer issued a decision ruling that RRHA had improperly applied its personnel policies and procedures, and had thereby acted in bad faith in terminating Andrews' employment. The hearing officer thus ordered that Andrews be reinstated to her former position with full back pay. The hearing officer then advised at the conclusion of her decision that, under the terms of RRHA's Grievance Policy, “[e]ither party may ... appeal the decision to the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond, Virginia.” See RRHA Grievance Policy, Section VII.E. (“Challenges to the Hearing Officer's Decision”).

Andrews ultimately dropped her second claim consisting of allegations that she was the victim of sexual harassment by her supervisor, resulting in her wrongful employment termination by RRHA.

RRHA, “pursuant to Code § 2.2–3006 ” of Virginia's State Grievance Procedure (Code §§ 2.2–3000 through –3008) (“State

Grievance Procedure”), appealed the hearing officer's decision to the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond. As asserted in RRHA's notice of appeal, “[r]ather than apply RRHA's unambiguous written policies and procedures, the hearing officer unilaterally created new policies and procedures and/or rewrote RRHA's existing policies and procedures and applied those newly created or rewritten requirements. In doing so, the hearing officer's decision exceeded her statutory authority and, therefore, was contradictory to Virginia law.” Specifically, RRHA contended that the decision ignored Code § 15.2–1507(A)(10)(a)(6), which, RRHA argued, “limit[ed] [the] hearing officer's authority by requiring that ... her decision ‘be consistent with provisions of law and written policy.’ ” RRHA made these same assertions in its supporting brief filed with the circuit court and at oral argument. RRHA therefore asked the circuit court to reverse the hearing officer's decision.

The State Grievance Procedure sets forth “a plainly stated statutory framework” providing grievance procedures applicable to state agency employees. Virginia Polytechnic Inst. v. Quesenberry, 277 Va. 420, 428, 674 S.E.2d 854, 858 (2009).

Code § 2.2–3006(B) provides for the right of either party in a grievance to appeal a hearing officer's decision to circuit court under the State Grievance Procedure “on the grounds that the [hearing officer's] determination is contradictory to law.” RRHA and Andrews disagree (addressed infra) over whether this provision authorized RRHA to appeal the hearing officer's decision to circuit court where RRHA opted to establish its own grievance procedure under the terms of Code § 15.2–1507(A)(4) (providing that such a grievance procedure must be “consistent with the provisions of [the State Grievance Procedure]”).

Code § 15.2–1507 addresses the establishment of grievance procedures for employees of local governments (i.e., counties, cities and towns), as well as for employees of community services boards, redevelopment and housing authorities, and regional housing authorities.

Opposing RRHA's appeal, Andrews argued in its brief and at oral argument that the hearing officer correctly interpreted RRHA's personnel policies and procedures, and in particular RRHA's Standards of Conduct; and that the record supported the hearing officer's findings and disposition of her grievance. Andrews, however, did not argue that the circuit court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to hear RRHA's appeal.

The circuit court ruled in favor of RRHA and reversed the hearing officer's decision. The court determined that it was “vest[ed] [with] jurisdiction to ‘hear the appeal on the record’ ” under Code § 2.2–3006. The court then ruled that the hearing officer erred in her interpretation and application of RRHA's disputed personnel policies and procedures. In doing so, the court agreed

with RRHA that the hearing officer was “required to render a decision ‘consistent with provisions of law and written policy’ ” under Code § 15.2–1507(A)(10)(a)(6) ; and that “the hearing officer's decision here is ‘contradictory to law’ under Va. Code § 2.2–3006.” Accordingly,

the court entered a final order denying the grievance.

Andrews appealed the circuit court's decision to the Court of Appeals of Virginia challenging the merits of that decision. The Court of Appeals concluded, however, that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction to decide the appeal under Code § 17.1–405 and transferred the case to this Court under Code § 8.01–677.1. Andrews then filed a petition for appeal to this Court. There, Andrews raised the additional argument in her first assignment of error that the circuit court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to consider RRHA's appeal of the hearing officer's decision. We granted Andrews this appeal limited solely to the jurisdictional issue.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Raising Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Andrews did not waive her jurisdictional challenge to the circuit court's decision by raising it for the first time on appeal. “Subject matter jurisdiction is the authority granted to a court by constitution or by statute to adjudicate a class of cases or controversies.” Earley v. Landsidle , 257 Va. 365, 371, 514 S.E.2d 153, 156 (1999) (citing Morrison v. Bestler , 239 Va. 166, 169, 387 S.E.2d 753, 755 (1990) ). Under settled principles, such jurisdiction “cannot be conferred on the court by the litigants” and a challenge to it “cannot be waived.” Virginian–Pilot Media Cos. v. Dow Jones & Co., 280 Va. 464, 468, 698 S.E.2d 900, 902 (2010) (citing In re: Commonwealth , 278 Va. 1, 11, 677 S.E.2d 236, 240 (2009) ). Furthermore, “lack of subject matter jurisdiction may be raised at any time, in any manner, before any court, or by the court itself.” Nelson v. Warden of the Keen Mt. Corr. Ctr. , 262 Va. 276, 281, 552 S.E.2d 73, 75 (2001) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted); see Humphreys v. Commonwealth , 186 Va. 765, 772, 43 S.E.2d 890, 893 (1947) (same).

B. Standard of Review

The present dispute over subject matter jurisdiction concerning whether the circuit court had the statutory authority to entertain RRHA's grievance appeal presents an issue of law, which we review de novo. See Glasser & Glasser, PLC v. Jack Bays, Inc. , 285 Va. 358, 369, 741 S.E.2d 599, 604 (2013) (challenge to trial court's subject matter jurisdiction involved an issue of law subject to de novo review); see also REVI, LLC v. Chicago Title. Ins. Co. , 290 Va. 203, 208, 776 S.E.2d 808, 810 (2015) (question of statutory interpretation is subject to de novo review (citing Eberhardt v. Fairfax County Emples. Ret. Sys. Bd. of Trs. , 283 Va. 190, 194, 721 S.E.2d 524, 526 (2012) )). We conclude as a matter of law that the circuit court lacked subject matter jurisdiction under Code § 2.2–3006 to hear the appeal.

C. Code § 15.2–1507

Andrews argues that her grievance under RRHA's Grievance Policy was controlled by Code § 15.2–1507 and that this statute did not give RRHA the right to seek judicial review of the hearing officer's decision (contrary to the express terms of Section VII.E. of the Grievance Policy). As for RRHA's contention that the circuit court's jurisdiction was controlled instead by Code § 2.2–3006, Andrews argues that this statute, as part of the State Grievance Procedure, has no application to the grievance procedure set forth in Code § 15.2–1507 for local governments and other non-state entities, including redevelopment and housing authorities like RRHA. We disagree with Andrews' reading of these statutes.

The only avenue for the circuit court's exercise of jurisdiction in this case, according to Andrews, would have been pursuant to Code § 15.2–1507(A)(11), which gives a party the limited right to petition the court “for an order requiring implementation of the hearing decision.” As for a challenge to the merits of a hearing officer's decision by an appeal to circuit court, Andrews contends that such judicial review is expressly limited under Code § 15.2–1507 to circumstances in which a hearing officer's decision “result[ed] in the reinstatement of any employee of a sheriff's office, who has been terminated for cause,” as set forth in subsection (B) of the statute. Code § 15.2–1507(B). Because we conclude, as explained infra, that RRHA's grievance procedure is controlled by the State Grievance Procedure and not Code § 15.2–1507, we need not address Andrews' arguments regarding the scope of judicial review under Code § 15.2–1507.

The focus of Code § 15.2–1507 is on the “components and features” that are required by the statute to be incorporated in the grievance procedures adopted by “local governments” or “localities”

(i.e., counties, cities and towns) for their employees. Code § 15.2–1507(A). In addressing such grievance procedures, the statute also makes provision for grievance procedures for employees of, among other entities, redevelopment and housing authorities. Subsection (A)(4) of the statute provides, in relevant part:

As used in Title 15.2 of the Code, the interchangeable terms “locality” and “local government” are defined as “a county, city, or town as the context may require.” Code § 15.2–102.

As used in Title 36, Chapter 1, Article 1 of the Code, addressing “Housing Authorities Law,” the terms “authority” and “housing authority” are defined as “any of the political subdivisions created by § 36–4.” Code § 36–3. See Code § 36–4 (addressing each locality's creation of a redevelopment and housing authority as “a political subdivision of the Commonwealth with such public and corporate powers as are set forth in this chapter”); see also Richmond Redevelopment & Hous. Auth. v. Laburnum Const. Corp., 195 Va. 827, 843, 80 S.E.2d 574, 583 (1954) (explaining that while RRHA, as plaintiff, “was denominated a political subdivision of the State, it did not qualify as one acting for purely governmental purposes”) (superseded by statute on other grounds). Code § 36–3 further defines “locality” to mean “the same as that term is defined in § 15.2–102.”

Grievance procedure availability and coverage for employees of ... redevelopment and housing authorities.... Employees of ... redevelopment and housing authorities created pursuant to § 36–4 ... shall be included in (i) a local governing body's grievance procedure ... if agreed to by the ... authority and the locality or (ii) a grievance procedure established and administered by the ... authority which is consistent with the provisions of Chapter 30 (§ 2.2–3000 et seq.) of Title 2.2 [the State Grievance Procedure] and any regulations promulgated pursuant thereto. If [an] ... authority fails to establish a grievance procedure pursuant to clause (i) or (ii), it shall be deemed to have adopted a grievance procedure which is consistent with the provisions of Chapter 30 (§ 2.2–3000 et seq.) of Title 2.2 and any regulations adopted pursuant thereto for so long as it remains in noncompliance.

Code § 15.2–1507(A)(4) (emphasis added).

In construing Code § 15.2–1507(A)(4), “ ‘we must apply its plain meaning, and we are not free to add [to] language, nor to ignore language, contained in [it].’ ” Kiser v. A.W. Chesterton Co. , 285 Va. 12, 25, 736 S.E.2d 910, 918 (2013) (quoting BBF, Inc. v. Alstom Power, Inc. , 274 Va. 326, 331, 645 S.E.2d 467, 469 (2007)

internal quotation marks omitted)). That is to say, “ ‘[w]hen the legislature has used words of a plain and definite import the courts cannot put upon them a construction which amounts to holding the legislature did not mean what it has actually expressed.’ ” Id. (quoting Barr v. Town & Country Props., Inc. , 240 Va. 292, 295, 396 S.E.2d 672, 674 (1990) (internal quotation marks omitted)).

A plain reading of subsection (A)(4) compels the conclusion that RRHA's grievance procedure is not controlled by Code § 15.2–1507, but instead by the State Grievance Procedure. When RRHA opted to have its own grievance procedure as permitted under the second option in subsection (A)(4)—rather than entering into an agreement with the City of Richmond for RRHA's inclusion in the City's grievance procedure as permitted under the first option in subsection (A)(4)—RRHA was explicitly required by this subsection to establish and administer its grievance procedure “consistent with” the State Grievance Procedure. Nothing in the language of subsection (A)(4) indicates that RRHA's grievance procedure must also be “consistent with” the grievance procedure set forth in the other provisions of Code § 15.2–1507 specifically established for local governments.

Indeed, RRHA's Grievance Policy could not function coherently under a conflated application of the separate statutory schemes set forth in Code § 15.2–1507 and the State Grievance Procedure. The operative word “consistent” used in the second option in Code § 15.2–1507(A)(4) means “coexisting and showing no noteworthy opposing, conflicting, inharmonious, or contradictory qualities or trends.” Webster's Third New International

Dictionary 484 (1993). RRHA's Grievance Policy cannot be “consistent with” both statutory schemes because of their divergent features, the most significant of which, for purposes of this case, are their different provisions concerning the right to judicial review of a hearing officer's decision. (Judicial review under Code § 2.2–3006 of the State Grievance Procedure is addressed in Subsection II.D. below.) We thus eschew a construction of Code § 15.2–1507(A)(4) that would embrace such a hybrid statutory apparatus for controlling the establishment and administration of a redevelopment and housing authority's own grievance procedure. In construing statutes, this Court has repeatedly adhered to the principle, as we do here, that “[t]he plain, obvious, and rational meaning of a statute is

to be preferred over any curious, narrow, or strained construction.” Deutsche Bank Nat'l Trust Co. v. Arrington , 290 Va. 109, 116, 772 S.E.2d 571, 574 (2015) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).

We thus conclude that the question whether the circuit court had subject matter jurisdiction to entertain RRHA's appeal of the hearing officer's decision is controlled by the provisions of Code § 2.2–3006 of the State Grievance Procedure.

D. Code § 2.2–3006

As part of the State Grievance Procedure addressing the review of a hearing officer's decision, Code § 2.2–3006 provides, in relevant part, in subsections (A) and (B):

A. Upon the request of a party to a grievance hearing for an administrative review of the hearing decision, the Director of the Department of Human Resource Management shall determine, within 30 days of the conclusion of any other administrative reviews, whether the hearing decision is consistent with policy .
B. Within 30 days of a final decision, [either] party may appeal on the grounds that the determination is contradictory to law by filing a notice of appeal with the clerk of the circuit court in the jurisdiction in which the grievance arose.... Within 30 days of receipt of the grievance record, the court, sitting without a jury, shall hear the appeal on the record. The court may affirm the decision or may reverse or modify the decision....

(Emphases added.)

These provisions make clear that either party may appeal a hearing officer's decision to circuit court for review on grounds that it is “contradictory to law,” Code § 2.2–3006(B), but no such right is available when the challenge to the decision presents a question whether it is “consistent with policy,” Code § 2.2–3006(A). This review procedure, as so devised, “allows the executive branch latitude to manage and discipline [its] employees and to develop its own policy and procedures, subject to limited

legal constraints.” Burke v. Catawba Hosp. , 59 Va.App. 828, 834, 722 S.E.2d 684, 687 (2012). As we explained in Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University v. Quesenberry , 277 Va. 420, 430, 674 S.E.2d 854, 859 (2009), “ ‘the hearing officer is to act as fact finder and the Director of the Department of Human Resource Management [DHRM] is to determine whether the hearing officer's decision is consistent with policy. In the grievance process, neither of these determinations is subject to judicial review, but only that part of the grievance determination ‘contradictory to law. ’ ” Id. (quoting Virginia Dept. of State Police v. Barton , 39 Va.App. 439, 445, 573 S.E.2d 319, 322 (2002) (emphasis added) (some internal quotation marks omitted)); see Commonwealth v. Needham , 55 Va.App. 316, 327, 685 S.E.2d 857, 863 (2009) (“Under the State Grievance Procedure, an appeal from a hearing officer's interpretation of policy goes to the director of [DHRM], not the circuit court.” (citing Code § 2.2–3006(A) )). Thus, the circuit court has a “very narrow” standard of review that “focuses solely on the question whether the hearing officer's decision is contradictory to any applicable law,” i.e., “ ‘[a] constitutional provision, statute, regulation or judicial decision.’ ”

See Virginia Dep't of State Police v. Barton, 39 Va.App. 439, 447, 573 S.E.2d 319, 323 (2002) (“As the provision of a state grievance procedure for state employees is a matter of legislative grace, the General Assembly has wide latitude in how it chooses to structure that process, including any right of appeal.” (citing Murray v. Stokes, 237 Va. 653, 378 S.E.2d 834 (1989) )).

Quesenberry , 277 Va. at 429, 674 S.E.2d at 858 (quoting Tatum v. Virginia Dep't. of Agric. , 41 Va.App. 110, 122, 582 S.E.2d 452, 458 (2003) ).

Here, RRHA, citing Code § 2.2–3006, challenged the hearing officer's decision to reinstate Andrews by appealing the decision to the circuit court and arguing that it was “contradictory to law.” As the appealing party, it was RRHA's burden to identify how “the law [was] thereby contradicted.” Quesenberry , 277 Va. at 429, 674 S.E.2d at 858. RRHA, however, pointed only to subsection (A)(10)(a)(6) of Code § 15.2–1507 —a provision which is inapplicable to RRHA's Grievance Policy, for the reasons explained above—thereby erroneously conflating Code § 15.2–1507 with Code § 2.2–3006.

Moreover, RRHA did not make a prima facie showing for invoking judicial review of the hearing officer's decision under

Code § 2.2–3006(B) because the substance of RRHA's appeal challenged only the hearing officer's interpretation and application of RRHA's policies. As expressly asserted in RRHA's notice of appeal, the hearing officer failed to “apply RRHA's unambiguous written policies and procedures, ... unilaterally created new policies and procedures and/or rewrote RRHA's existing policies and procedures [,] and applied those newly created or rewritten requirements.” RRHA argued, more specifically, in its legal memorandum that the hearing officer erroneously determined that:

(1) RRHA had an obligation to utilize progressive discipline in every instance (RRHA policy does not state as much); (2) the direct supervisor (as opposed to [RRHA's chief operating officer] ) had to recommend the termination (no RRHA policy states that); (3) RRHA did not give Andrews sufficient time to dispute her discipline (RRHA policy does not provide for such a time); and (4) RRHA had an obligation to “document” its performance concerns (no policy states as much).

RRHA then made the same arguments to the circuit court at oral argument. Based on such a challenge to the hearing officer's decision, RRHA was limited, pursuant to Code § 2.2–3006(A), to a review of that decision by RRHA's executive director or other designated person within the organization, who would be comparable to the director of DHRM as the designated person to conduct such a review under subsection (A) at the state level.

We note that this would be the case only where a redevelopment and housing authority like RRHA has taken the second option under Code § 15.2–1507(A)(4) to establish and administer its own grievance procedure, and not the first option in this subsection by which the authority would be included in a locality's grievance procedure. In other words, under the second option, the authority would have the right (consistent with Code § 2.2–3006(A) ) to render the ultimate interpretation of its own personnel policies (by the authority's executive director or other designated person) when a hearing officer's interpretation is challenged for review. On the other hand, if the housing authority took the first option in subsection (A)(4) and thereby was included in the locality's grievance procedure, the authority would relinquish to the locality the right to render the ultimate interpretation of the authority's personnel policies. See Code § 15.2–1507(A)(10)(a)(7) (“The question of whether the relief granted by a ... hearing officer is consistent with written policy shall be determined by the chief administrative officer of the local government....”).

The circuit court therefore did not have subject matter jurisdiction to entertain RRHA's appeal under Code § 2.2–3006

because the statute did not grant the court the authority to review a case or controversy of this nature. See Burke , 59 Va. App. at 833–35, 722 S.E.2d at 687–88 (affirming, based on

In this regard, Section VII.E. of RRHA's Grievance Policy is patently inconsistent with Code § 2.2–3006. First, it erroneously provides under subsection (1) that “[e]ither party may ... appeal [a hearing officer's] decision to the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond,” rather than appropriately representing that such right is limited to challenges based on the decision being “contradictory to law.” Code § 2.2–3006(B). Second, subsection (2) erroneously deviates from this narrow standard of review granted to the circuit court by representing, among other things, that the court “will affirm [the hearing officer's] decision unless ... [it] is contrary to or inconsistent with RRHA policy or procedure,” which the court has no authority to review under Code § 2.2–3006(A) and (B) of the State Grievance Procedure. Therefore, under the terms of Code § 15.2–1507(A)(4), Section VII.E. of RRHA's Grievance Policy “shall be deemed to have [been] adopted ... consistent with the provisions of [the State Grievance Procedure] for so long as it remains in noncompliance.”
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Code § 2.2–3006, circuit court's holding that “it was without jurisdiction to review ‘the matters of policy presented in th [e] appeal’ ” of a hearing officer's decision to uphold the grievant's termination of employment); Barton , 39 Va.App. at 444–48, 573 S.E.2d at 322–24 (reversing, based on Code § 2.1–116.07:1 (recodified as amended at Code § 2.2–3006 ), a circuit court's decision on appeal to dismiss a hearing officer's three-day suspension of a state trooper because the circuit court was without jurisdiction to entertain the appeal where the conflict was over the interpretation of agency policy).

III. CONCLUSION

We hold that the circuit court lacked subject matter jurisdiction under the controlling statute, Code § 2.2–3006, to entertain RRHA's appeal of the hearing officer's decision. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the circuit court, reinstate the hearing officer's decision, and dismiss the appeal.

Reversed and dismissed .

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Notes:

Andrews v. Richmond Redevelopment & Hous. Auth.