NEW YORK — Fox Business Network host Charles Payne has been suspended while 21st Century Fox investigates sexual harassment allegations made against him, the company said.

Payne’s suspension was announced by Fox Business Network following his program, “Making Money.”

“We take issues of this nature extremely seriously and have a zero-tolerance policy for any professional misconduct,” a Fox Business Network representative said in a statement. “This matter is being thoroughly investigated and we are taking all of the appropriate steps to reach a resolution.”

Payne, who hosts “Making Money” on the network and appears on various other programs, has acknowledged what he described as a three-year “romantic relationship” with a married female political analyst who frequently appeared on Fox Business Network and Fox News Channel from 2013 to 2016. Payne admitted to the extramarital affair in a statement to the National Enquirer published Wednesday that included an apology to his wife, children and friends.

That relationship is now being reviewed after the woman contacted Fox’s law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison last month to report her allegations of sexual misconduct, the sources said. The woman, who worked for CNN last year, had a representative tell the firm she believed she was eventually blackballed from the network after she ended the affair in 2015 and tried to report Payne to top executives at Fox News, according to a two people familiar with her complaint.

The Los Angeles Times is not naming the woman because she alleges that she was coerced into a sexual relationship with Payne under threat of reprisals.

Neal Korval, an attorney representing Payne, said the anchor “categorically denies” having committed any acts of sexual harassment against the woman.