diff --git a/src/utils/profileDataMapper.ts b/src/utils/profileDataMapper.ts
index 61906a3..0e1ee5f 100644
--- a/src/utils/profileDataMapper.ts
+++ b/src/utils/profileDataMapper.ts
@@ -291,21 +291,21 @@ export function mapFieldValuesToAvailability(fieldValues: FieldValueResponse[]):
     return trimmed;
   };
 
-  // Use backend-resolved labels only. Drop stale/orphan values whose option is no longer
-  // defined in the profile field (backend returns no label for them) — prevents old
-  // selections from lingering when admin renames/removes options.
+  // Drop stale/orphan options. Backend returns `valueLabel[i]` equal to the raw `value[i]`
+  // when no option match is found (admin renamed/removed the option). Those are orphans —
+  // skip them entirely so old selections don't linger on the public profile.
   const resolvedLabels: string[] = [];
   rawValues.forEach((val, i) => {
-    const fromBackend = labelValues[i];
-    if (fromBackend && typeof fromBackend === 'string' && fromBackend.trim()) {
-      resolvedLabels.push(formatIfSnakeCase(fromBackend));
-      return;
-    }
-    // No backend label → likely a stale option; skip unless it's already a human-readable string
     const raw = String(val || '').trim();
     if (!raw) return;
-    if (/^[a-z0-9]+(_[a-z0-9]+)+$/i.test(raw)) return; // skip snake_case orphans
-    resolvedLabels.push(formatIfSnakeCase(raw));
+    const fromBackend = labelValues[i];
+    const hasResolvedLabel =
+      fromBackend &&
+      typeof fromBackend === 'string' &&
+      fromBackend.trim() &&
+      fromBackend !== raw; // backend-resolved label must DIFFER from raw value
+    if (!hasResolvedLabel) return; // orphan — drop
+    resolvedLabels.push(formatIfSnakeCase(fromBackend));
   });
 
   // Deduplicate by normalized comparison (case/whitespace insensitive)
@@ -319,15 +319,18 @@ export function mapFieldValuesToAvailability(fieldValues: FieldValueResponse[]):
     }
   }
 
-  // Determine availability type based on values OR resolved labels
-  const allValues = [...rawValues.map(v => String(v)), ...resolvedLabels];
-  let type = 'Available';
-  if (allValues.some(v => matchesKeyword(v, fullTimeKeywords))) {
-    type = 'Full-time';
-  } else if (allValues.some(v => matchesKeyword(v, partTimeKeywords))) {
-    type = 'Part-time';
-  } else if (allValues.some(v => matchesKeyword(v, flexibleKeywords))) {
-    type = 'Flexible';
+  // Determine availability type from resolved labels only (orphan values were already dropped).
+  // If nothing valid remains, don't fabricate a type.
+  let type = '';
+  if (resolvedLabels.length > 0) {
+    type = 'Available';
+    if (resolvedLabels.some(v => matchesKeyword(v, fullTimeKeywords))) {
+      type = 'Full-time';
+    } else if (resolvedLabels.some(v => matchesKeyword(v, partTimeKeywords))) {
+      type = 'Part-time';
+    } else if (resolvedLabels.some(v => matchesKeyword(v, flexibleKeywords))) {
+      type = 'Flexible';
+    }
   }
 
   return { type, schedule, label };