Delaware Panel Orders Rehoboth Beach Bar to Pay $15,000 Over Bathroom Policy

Sussex County, DE - The Delaware Human and Civil Rights Commission has ruled that The Hideout Arcade Bar & Grille in Rehoboth Beach discriminated against a transgender customer.

The commission ordered the business and its owner to pay a combined $15,000 in damages and penalties.

The ruling came after a hearing panel reviewed a complaint filed by Kaitie Sorber, a transgender woman who said the bar denied her access to the women's bathroom because of her gender identity. The panel also found the bar later banned her from the property in retaliation for a social media post she made about the incident.

The Hideout is located in the 18000 block of Coastal Highway in Rehoboth Beach.

According to the panel's written decision, Sorber had been a regular customer at the Hideout and used the women's bathroom there without any problems. On April 5, 2023, an employee scanned her identification when she entered. She then bought a drink and later tried to use the women's bathroom.

Three employees stopped her on her way to the bathroom. One told her she could only use the men's bathroom. The decision states that the owner, Bryan Derrickson, later confirmed the bar had a policy requiring patrons to use the bathroom matching the gender listed on their driver's license.

Sorber's Delaware driver's license lists her gender as male. She testified that she has been undergoing hormone treatment since 2018 and presents as female in her daily life, including at work.

On April 12, 2023, Sorber returned to the Hideout. An employee at the door told her she had been banned from the business. The ban followed a Facebook post Sorber made to her friends describing the earlier bathroom incident.

During the hearing, Derrickson testified that the bathroom policy followed a complaint from a customer about Sorber's presence in the women's bathroom. He said he based the policy on the gender listed on a patron's driver's license.

The panel's decision states that Derrickson gave shifting explanations for the policy during questioning. At one point he said an eight year old girl felt threatened. Under further questioning, he acknowledged he never spoke with the child and was relying on comments from her parents.

The panel found Sorber to be a credible witness throughout the hearing. It also found that Delaware's Equal Accommodations Law protects gender identity and does not require anyone to present identification to use a bathroom matching that identity.

The panel pointed to the law's text, which lists gender identity among the protected categories for public accommodations in Delaware. It noted that lawmakers created a specific exception allowing separate spaces in locker rooms and changing areas, but did not include a similar exception for bathrooms.

The panel concluded that the Hideout's April 5 bathroom policy violated the Equal Accommodations Law. It also concluded that banning Sorber after her Facebook post amounted to unlawful retaliation under the same law.

The commission ordered the Hideout and its owner to pay Sorber $10,000 in compensatory damages. It also ordered them to pay a $5,000 civil penalty to the commission's Special Administration Fund.

The order requires the Hideout to remove Sorber from its list of banned patrons. It also requires the business to revise its bathroom policy so it complies with the Equal Accommodations Law.

All current employees and contractors at the Hideout must complete anti-discrimination training within six months of the order. The training provider must be approved by the Delaware Division of Human and Civil Rights.

The order was signed on July 22, 2026, by Panel Chair Dwayne Bensing and Panel Member Calvin Christopher.

Source: Memorandum Decision and Order