NEW YORK _ Fox Business host Charles Payne is returning to his job at the network after an internal investigation of sexual harassment claims against him by a female political analyst who was a frequent guest on his program.
A Fox News spokesperson confirmed that the company's review of the allegations against Payne has been completed and that he will return to his nightly program "Making Money" tonight.
Payne has been off the air since July 6 when he was suspended hours after the Los Angeles Times first reported that he was being investigated over allegations of sexual misconduct last month made to Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, the law firm investigating harassment claims for Fox.
No other details were available on the results of the investigation, but his return seems to indicate that he has been cleared.
The name of the woman who brought the claims is not being disclosed by The Times because her allegations include being coerced into a sexual relationship by Payne.
Payne acknowledged that he was in a three-year "romantic relationship" with the woman. But he has called the claims of harassment "an ugly lie."
The woman who filed a complaint with Paul, Weiss was never an employee of Fox News but appeared as a guest across numerous Fox News and Fox Business Network programs with the hope of becoming a paid contributor.
She has told her lawyer, who prepared a legal complaint against Fox News and Payne, that she stayed in the relationship with the host because she believed he would help her chances of landing a position at the network. She alleged that her opportunities diminished after the relationship ended in 2015 when Payne's wife learned of their involvement.
Payne, who joined Fox Business in 2006 as a contributor, signed a new multi-year contract in June.
The allegations against Payne were among the many to hit 21st Century Fox, which has been plagued by sexual harassment allegations since former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson filed suit last year against the network's former chief executive, Roger Ailes. Since then, other women have come forward with allegations against Ailes, who died in May, and other significant figures at the company.
The network's star anchor, Bill O'Reilly, was pushed out in April after reports that he and Fox had paid out millions of dollars to settle harassment claims going back to 2004.
Eric Bolling, the host of "Fox News Specialists," remains suspended as Paul, Weiss looks into allegatons that he used his cellphone to send unsolicited photos of male genitalia to female colleagues. Bolling has been off the air since Aug. 5.
