States hesitation for the employer (4)
I believe the answer is:
user
'the employer' is the definition.
(someone who employs or uses something)
'states hesitation' is the wordplay.
'states' becomes 'US' (abbreviation for the United States).
'hesitation' becomes 'er' (sound used when hesitating).
'us'+'er'='USER'
'for' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for user that I've seen before include "One exploiting others" , "Drug-taker" , "Person taking drugs" , "Junkie's" , "Maybe one needing pot" .)