Sunrise Senior Living: Hiring, Background Check & Employment Verification FAQs

Sunrise Senior Living was founded in 1981 by Paul and Terry Klaassen, who opened their first community in Oakton, Virginia. The company is credited with helping establish the modern residential model of senior living, built around homelike communities rather than institutional settings, and its early Victorian mansion-style buildings became a recognizable signature. Sunrise is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

The company operates more than 240 communities across the United States and Canada, offering independent living, assisted living, memory care, and nursing and rehabilitative services at a range of price points. As of 2026 it has been described as the seventh-largest senior living provider in the United States. Communities vary in size and service mix, so the mix of clinical and hospitality roles at a given location depends on the licenses it holds and the level of care it provides.

Ownership has changed over the company's history. Sunrise operated for years in a joint venture structure with the real estate investment trust Welltower, which sold its remaining stake in the Sunrise management company in 2023 as part of a broader restructuring. Revera, based in Mississauga, Ontario, is the owner of the Sunrise Senior Living management business following that transaction. Like most senior living operators, Sunrise manages communities that may be owned by third-party real estate investors, so the operating company and the property owner are not always the same entity.

Community-level staffing reflects a hybrid of healthcare and hospitality. Typical roles include care managers and caregivers, certified nursing assistants, medication care managers, licensed practical and registered nurses, memory care coordinators, dining services and culinary staff, housekeeping and maintenance, activities and life enrichment staff, drivers who transport residents, sales and move-in coordinators, business office staff, and executive directors who lead each community. Regional and corporate functions cover operations, clinical quality, human resources, finance, marketing, and real estate.

Company culture and employee programs:

Sunrise builds its employer messaging around resident relationships and person-centered care, and much of the workforce is made up of hourly caregiving and support staff who work scheduled shifts including evenings, overnights, and weekends. New hires in care roles typically complete orientation covering resident rights, dementia care practices, safety, and infection control, along with any state-mandated training hours for the role. Benefits, scheduling, pay, and advancement paths vary by community, state, and whether a position is full-time or part-time, so candidates should confirm specifics with the hiring community.

Yes. Employers in the senior living and long-term care industry, including Sunrise Senior Living, are legally permitted and in many cases required to screen job candidates before hire, provided they follow applicable federal, state, and local law. In the United States, screening performed through a consumer reporting agency is governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which sets requirements for disclosure, written consent, and adverse action. State licensing rules for assisted living and skilled nursing frequently add mandatory criminal history checks, fingerprinting, and registry screening for anyone with direct resident contact. Canadian provinces apply their own employment, privacy, and vulnerable-sector screening rules.

Sunrise Senior Living is generally reported to conduct background checks as part of its hiring process, which is standard across senior living operators. Communities screen candidates because staff assist residents with personal care, enter private apartments, handle medications, and in many roles work with residents who have cognitive impairment. The components of a Sunrise Senior Living background check may vary by role, by state or province, and by the license category of the community, since regulatory requirements differ between independent living, assisted living, and skilled nursing settings.

While details vary by community, the Sunrise Senior Living hiring process typically begins with an online application for a specific location. A recruiter or community leader conducts a phone screen, followed by an in-person interview at the community, often with the executive director, director of nursing, or department head. Candidates who advance generally receive a conditional offer, then complete pre-employment requirements that commonly include a background check, verification of any required license or certification, state-mandated registry checks, a health screening such as tuberculosis testing, and in some cases a drug test. Orientation and role-specific training follow before a new hire begins working with residents.

Turnaround depends on the searches ordered and on how quickly outside parties respond. Database and identity searches typically return quickly, while county criminal court records, out-of-state searches, and state-run fingerprint or abuse-registry checks often take longer because they depend on government agency processing. License verification and prior employment checks add time when a board or former employer is slow to respond. For a broader sense of typical timing, review background check turnaround times.

The employer determines the scope, and state law often sets a floor. For a senior living role, a report may include some or all of the following:

Read the disclosure and authorization paperwork you receive, which identifies the specific searches being requested for your position.

Lookback windows depend on the search type and the governing law. Under the FCRA, consumer reporting agencies are generally restricted from reporting most adverse non-conviction information older than seven years, with exceptions tied to salary thresholds and to certain record types such as convictions, and several states apply stricter limits. State-mandated screening for long-term care operates separately: registry checks and fingerprint-based criminal history checks used in licensed care settings frequently have no seven-year cap and may surface older disqualifying convictions defined by statute.

Sunrise Senior Living does not publish a detailed policy on applicants with felony records, and employer decisions of this kind are typically made case by case, weighing the nature and seriousness of the offense, how long ago it occurred, and its relationship to the job. In licensed senior care, however, employer discretion is narrower than in most industries: many states maintain statutory lists of disqualifying offenses, often covering abuse, neglect, exploitation, and certain violent or theft-related crimes, that bar employment in direct-care roles regardless of the operator's preference, sometimes with a waiver process. Many states and cities have also adopted "ban-the-box" laws limiting when criminal history may be asked about during an application. Candidates should be accurate on their application and prepared to discuss their history.

Candidates are typically asked to review a disclosure and provide written authorization before screening begins. Be prepared to supply your full legal name, any former names, date of birth, Social Security number, and address history, and to present identification during onboarding. Care-role candidates should also expect to provide certification or license numbers, complete state-required registry checks, appear for fingerprinting where the state requires it, and provide tuberculosis test results or other health documentation. Accurate information helps ensure searches run in the correct jurisdictions and prevents avoidable delays.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act is the federal law that governs how consumer reporting agencies compile and furnish background check information and how employers may use it in hiring. It requires a standalone disclosure and written consent before a report is ordered, and it requires an employer that intends to take adverse action based on the results to first provide a pre-adverse action notice, a copy of the report, and a summary of rights, so the candidate has an opportunity to dispute inaccurate information. For a fuller explanation of how the FCRA and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance apply to background checks, see Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Generally, yes. Direct-care staff in licensed assisted living and skilled nursing settings are among the most heavily screened workers outside of regulated finance and transportation. Beyond a standard criminal search, candidates commonly face state-administered fingerprint checks, nurse aide and adult protective services registry checks, verification of any required certification, and health screening. Requirements are set state by state, so a caregiver moving between Sunrise communities in different states may need to repeat or add checks even with a clean prior clearance. Communities in Canada typically require a vulnerable-sector police check instead, which follows provincial rules rather than the FCRA.

Running a personal background check with Checkr lets you preview what Sunrise Senior Living may see and identify potential inaccuracies before they affect your application. One secure report lets you review:

Create your report in minutes at Checkr Personal Background Checks. To share verified credentials with recruiters and hiring managers, build a free Checkr Profile.

Check your report status in the Candidate Portal. You can also visit the Checkr Help Center for FAQs, dispute steps, and support contacts.

The resources and information provided here are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Always consult your own counsel for up-to-date legal advice and guidance related to your practices, needs, and compliance with applicable laws.