Melissa Roth

About Melissa Roth

Public and private sector employers rely on Melissa Roth for workplace law, from the everyday human resources question to a contested grievance arbitration or a round of collective bargaining. Roth's practice is labour and employment law and nothing else. It covers human rights issues, wrongful dismissal claims, workplace investigations, employment contracts and policies, and occupational health and safety, with WSIB matters in the mix as well.

Advocacy is a big part of the job. Roth appears regularly at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and also argues before labour arbitrators, other administrative tribunals and the courts. The representative work runs from tribunal decisions dating back to 2017 through a 2019 labour board ruling and a 2023 arbitration award.

Called to the Ontario bar in 2012, Roth works out of Gowling WLG's Waterloo Region office and was named a partner in the firm's employment, labour and equalities group in 2021. Law school was at Western University, where a JD came in 2011 after a master's in philosophy, and before that a BA (Honours) from York University.

Since 2023, Roth's been recognized in The Best Lawyers in Canada for labour and employment law. Talking to employers about tricky workplace questions is a regular thing too, including a 2022 DriverCheck webinar on accommodating medicinal cannabis use in safety-sensitive jobs. Clients can work with Roth in English or Spanish.