Paycom earning codes for California premiums
Why Regular and PTO are not enough, and the codes to set up before the first payroll.
Last reviewed October 30, 2026. This article explains the rules in plain words. It is not legal advice: your company and its counsel decide your policy.
A common Paycom setup sends two pay types from time tracking: Regular and PTO. In California that cannot carry what the law requires on the pay stub.
What the wage statement must show#
Labor Code 226(a) requires, for non-exempt employees, the total hours worked and each hourly rate in effect with the hours worked at each rate. Daily overtime at 1.5x and double time at 2x are different rates, so they need their own lines.
Meal and rest premiums are wages (Naranjo v. Spectrum Security, 2022). They must appear on the statement, and paying them late can trigger waiting-time penalties. Sick leave available must appear too (Labor Code 246(i)).
The codes to agree#
| Code | Carries |
|---|---|
| Regular | Straight time |
| Overtime 1.5x | Daily over 8, weekly over 40, the seventh day's first 8 |
| Double time 2x | Daily over 12, the seventh day past 8 |
| Meal premium | One hour per day with a missed, short or late meal |
| Rest premium | One hour per day with a missed rest break |
| Sick | If separate from PTO |
| Each kind of time off | Holiday, vacation and the rest |
The code names come from your own Paycom earnings list. Ask your Paycom rep for it, together with the hours import template for your account.
The other option#
Paycom could compute overtime itself from daily hours sent to it. Then premiums still need their own codes, since Paycom cannot know a meal was late from hours alone.
How Oh! Thyme handles it#
Each period's file is split by these codes, approved days only, with any missing employee code listed before the download. See Send hours to Paycom.
Sources#
- Labor Code 226: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
- California DLSE, paydays and wage statements: dir.ca.gov
- Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services (2022) 13 Cal.5th 93