Nonprofit, former CEO deny sexual harassment allegation that led to resignations

Rural Office of Community Services provides food, transportation programs for the poor and elderly

A major nonprofit organization that provides services to a large swath of southeastern South Dakota admits in a court filing that it hired a consultant to investigate a sexual harassment complaint of a former employee.

But Rural Office of Community Services, in response to a lawsuit filed by the employee, Michelle Drew, argues that Drew’s claims were made in bad faith regarding her relationship with her former supervisor. ROCS alleges that Drew’s claims are barred by her own “unclean hands” in the matter.

Drew – formerly Michelle Figland – filed suit against ROCS, alleging that its former CEO, Peter Smith, had engaged in three years of sexual harassment from 2021 to 2024, when she resigned on June 24. Ultimately, after resigning and then filing a complaint with the ROCS board, Smith also resigned.

In a separate legal filing, Smith denies all of Drew’s allegations against him.