Contact your HR department and ask them the exact question you just posted here. They will give you the time frame for your 480 hours so you don't have to be afraid of over or under using your hours.
Can you receive unemployment benefit after your fmla runs out
I was injured on the job but did not miss work. Must I file for FMLA?
There is no "committee." The FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) is a public law.
There are two law that provide job security during your leave for disability: the FMLA provides twelve weeks of unpaid leave for your disability. NJ has a separate law, but it provides leave for you to care for a sick family member - not your own disability. Your employer does not have to hold your job open if FMLA does not apply, or if your leave extends beyond 12 weeks.
FMLA is federal law and overrules Illinois standard law.
Your employer is not required to pay you for fmla, but is required to hold your position.
You have to be with an employer for 12 months and worked for 12 months or at least 1,250 hours to qualify for FMLA. You also have to have a qualifying reason to claim FMLA.
Howard Cosell - September 1983
No one "files for" FMLA with some agency - it is a unilateral grant from the employer. Once the employer has enough info to know whether the employee qualifies or does not qualify for FMLA, the employer MUST issue a letter announcing whether it it granting or denying FMLA. EMployees need not request FMLA to get it, but must comply with employer demands for medical certification.
Run
FMLA runs out after 12 weeks. What happens to you after that is between you and your employer.