It’s a rule the DoL issued in 2019 to “clarify” the prior FLSA regulations. I’ve also never heard of getting OT on benefits and I doubt there was any real confusion. Whether its good policy, I dunno. It’s plausible to me that including non-cash compensation in overtime would disincentive benefits in a way that left the worker worse off, but, ya know, maybe healthcare and retirement shouldn’t be contingent on one’s employer.
Anyway, this is the Heritage Foundation trying to convert that rule to a law.
from what that link says, it sounds like the rule was made mostly to get around employers saying “this part of your paycheck is a bonus, not a wage, so it’s exempt from the time and a half rule”