Have you worked for your employer for a minimum of 12 months and put in a minimum of 1280 hours during the last year? If so you can qualify for Family Medical Leave which is a Federal law allowing people to take care of their self or immediate family member due to an illness.

To qualify for disability benefits through your employer you need to prove your actually disabled. Filing for disability is a monetary replacement where FMLA is a job protection program. Many people get the two of them confused, but they are two separate entities and many people qualify for one and not the other.

I work in the business and while disability contracts vary depending on the employer, the basic FMLA laws apply to all (except in some states where the state laws add time to the 12 weeks the federal law gives us).

It's hard for me to give you specific answers on FMLA without more information on your condition- i.e., is there ongoing treatment, are you on medications, is it a chronic condition, and the length of your disability, but could help you out to determine if you qualify.

As far as reporting it, you should question your HR department on the FMLA reporting process. If you are late in reporting the beginning of your absence won't be covered. If your employer won't help you, talk to your state.

There is no governing agency that states your employer has to accommodate your request to work reduced hours. Many companies say if you can't do it all, you can't to it. It is usually a general HR policy specific to your company, possibly even the actual position you do. I have seen many people denied working with restrictions, even their full job at reduced hours, but take the person back when they are released to full duty work.