FMLA for surgery

I'm a Human Resource Specialist and deal with FMLA issues daily.  We have about 400 employees at our facility (the majority of them are hourly) and most of them have Short Term Disability that will pay them to be off for up to 26 weeks (as long as the physician provides documentation to support the disability to the administrator).  Anytime we have an employee going out on disability leave they also request FMLA.  Sometimes they exhaust their FMLA before returning (since they can draw their STD for up to 26 weeks and FMLA is only up to 12 weeks).  If they exhaust their FMLA prior to returning and they still have physical therapy to go to we would count it against their attendance.  Eligibility requirements are as follows:  You must've worked at least 1,250 hours dating back one year from the date FMLA is requested, employees are entitled to up to 12 weeks per rolling year (some employers use per calendar year).

Some employers sick days, Industrial Injury, and FMLA run concurrently so you may want to check with your HR folks to see how it's done where you're employed.  FMLA is a booger to administer and I've delt with it for 14 years.  You may not be eligible if you haven't worked enough hours??  Good luck!