So I was working 35 hours a week consistently from about mid 2020 to around October 2021 for a major food chain. In October 2021, we got a new GM. We didn't get along well and he slowly reduced my hours to about 1 shift a week over the next few months. I quit in February 2022 and have been doing gig work since. I know now that this was a textbook case to be qualified for unemployment and i regret not taking advantage of it. This happened in Colorado. I've never had to file an unemployment claim so my apologies if any of this sounds silly.
My questions are:
Is it possible to collect unemployment even though I've been doing gig work?
Is it possible to collect unemployment from a case that should have been opened last year?
Do I have any ground to stand on here? Gig work doesn't cover my bills recently, it's been more cost effective to just stay home. I'm actively searching for a new job