In our last E-Bulletin, we outlined the process for moving the remaining open Online Filing (OLF) dockets to TRS. The transition from OLF to TRS will be supported by AF and will be an interactive process. The parties on the case will be expected to interact with the TRS application to refile the imported cases in TRS. AF will begin the import process on Monday, September 9, 2024, and continue through Monday, September 30, 2024. Once the cases are available in TRS, the Recovering Party will receive a notification and must submit the filing by December 31, 2024. Any cases that have not been submitted by December 31, 2024, will be discontinued.

Please find below the visual representation of the OLF to TRS import process:




The process for making an OLF docket available in TRS will work as follows:

1. The docket information in OLF will be imported into a new case in TRS.
2. The Recovering Party on the case will receive a notification when their docket is imported in TRS. This notification will be sent to the global email address of the company. AF recommends that you ensure that a global email address for your company is available in our systems. Please contact AF Member Services to update your notification settings.
3. On receiving the notification, the Recovering Party will be able to search for their case using the hyperlink in the notification or their docket number in the TRS or OLF applications.
   1. After the docket is imported to TRS, it will no longer be available to OLF users. Access to the OLF data will be provided in TRS in PDF form. The Responding Parties on the docket will also be able to view the docket details in the PDF.
   2. The original filing date for the docket will be populated in the Features section of the TRS case.
   3. All your evidence associated with the docket imported to the case will be available to you in the evidence manager. It is important to note that you must link the evidence to the relevant parts of the filing for this evidence to be available for the arbitrator’s consideration.
   4. The Recovering Party must submit the imported case in TRS before the Responding Party can access it. The Recovering Party will have until December 31, 2024, to submit their imported cases in TRS.
4. Once the Recovering Party submits the case in TRS, the Responding Party will be notified of the submission as part of the current TRS workflow. Once again, please validate your global email address notification settings so that you can receive these notifications.
5. For cases imported from OLF, the Responding Party(ies) will have 90 days to respond to the filing. The time to respond for all cases, other than the imported cases, will remain at 30 days.
6. The Recovering and Responding Parties will have the option to defer the case. See How to Request a Deferment job aid available under the TRS Resources on the AF website.
7. Once a response is filed, the case will be marked as “Ready to Hear.”
8. Arbitrators will hear the cases and render decisions.
9. A decision published notification will be sent to all parties on the case.

AF will provide training materials and webinars to support the refiling process. Your Field Arbitration Manager will also assist to ensure a smooth and timely transition of OLF dockets to TRS. We will continue to provide updates on the process in our upcoming E-Bulletins.