Biography
Sebastian Martinez Hickey (he/him) is a State Economic Analyst on the State Policy & Research team at EPI. Martinez Hickey’s research studies state minimum wages, employment levels and pay in the public sector and K-12 education, and state unemployment insurance. He is passionate about centering race and gender in his research and providing historical context for modern day inequalities. His research on state minimum wage increases has been used in numerous debates regarding state and local minimum wage ballot measures. He has made numerous media appearances discussing the minimum wage and public education workers. In addition, he provides technical support to the state-level policy research and advocacy organizations that make up the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN). He originally joined EPI in 2021 as a research assistant.
Martinez Hickey has been quoted in Marketplace, CNN, FAIR radio, KFF Health News, and News & Views with Joel Heitkamp, and his work has been cited in the Washington Post, CBS News (Money Watch), NPR, Politico, MarketWatch, the Hill, Business Insider, Mother Jones, and the Associated Press.
Prior to joining EPI, Martinez Hickey worked as a Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellow where he trained community advocates for affordable housing at the Welcome Home Coalition in Portland, OR and researched access to mental health services for young people with low-incomes at CLASP.
Education
B.A., Public Policy, Stanford University
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Over 9.2 million workers will get a raise on January 1 from 21 states raising their minimum wages
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Nearly half of U.S workers will live in states with at least a $15 minimum wage by 2027: Alaska and Missouri became the latest states to enact a $15 minimum wage
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Leveraging the Gulf Coast Hydrogen Hub Community Benefits Plan to empower the Texas workforce
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The school bus driver shortage remains severe, and bus driver pay is getting worse
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A misleading economic study undersells the benefits from increasing the minimum wage in five cities in Boulder County
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Summer unemployment benefits could increase K–12 support staff incomes by $1.2 billion nationwide
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Understanding the impact of Alaska’s proposed $15 minimum wage
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A tight labor market and state minimum wage increases boosted low-end wage growth between 2019 and 2023
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Twenty-two states will increase their minimum wages on January 1, raising pay for nearly 10 million workers
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New York’s minimum wage law has a loophole that could freeze increases starting in 2027: This “off-ramp” provision must be repealed
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The school bus driver shortage remains severe: Without job quality improvements, workers, children, and parents will suffer
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Nineteen states and localities will increase their minimum wages this summer
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More than 8 million workers will get a raise on New Year’s Day: 23 states and D.C. will see minimum wage hikes ranging from $0.23 to $1.50 an hour
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Proposed New York state minimum wage legislation would boost wages for nearly 2.9 million workers: Minimum wages would range by region from $20 to $21.25 per hour by 2026
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Tying minimum-wage increases to inflation, as 13 states do, will lift up low-wage workers and their families across the country
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The state of the residential long-term care industry: A comprehensive look at employment levels, demographics, wages, benefits, and poverty rates of workers in the industry
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The value of the federal minimum wage is at its lowest point in 66 years
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Rising minimum wages in 20 states and localities help protect workers and families against higher prices
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Proposed New York state minimum wage increases would lift wages for more than 2 million workers through 2026: Minimum wages would range by region from $16.35 to $21.25 per hour by 2026
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Raising pay in public K–12 schools is critical to solving staffing shortages: Federal relief funds can provide a down payment on long-needed investments in the education workforce
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Twenty-one states raised their minimum wages on New Year’s Day: Federal action is still needed
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States are choosing employers over workers by using COVID relief funds to pay off unemployment insurance debt: Policymakers shouldn’t be afraid to increase taxes on employers to improve unemployment insurance
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Preempting progress in the heartland: State lawmakers in the Midwest prevent shared prosperity and racial, gender, and immigrant justice by interfering in local policymaking
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Ensuring the high road in Cannabis: Legalization offers a chance to make the cannabis industry a model of good jobs—if workers are given a voice
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Cutting unemployment insurance benefits did not boost job growth: July state jobs data show a widespread recovery
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New personal income data show the need for broad and permanent unemployment insurance reform
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The American Rescue Plan clears a path to recovery for state and local governments and the communities they serve