Requesting an interveiw for an upcomming promotion

Unless you are in a labor union or in a public sector civil service job where there are stringent requirements on how to fill positions, it is largely the employer's prerogative to use whatever recruitment process they want. Even if a process is spelled out in an employee handbook, you would not have much recourse to enforce the policy, unfortunately. Conceivably, if you could prove with certainty that you would have been chosen had the policy been followed, then maybe there could be a potential claim, but that would be difficult to prove. I do not mean to suggest that this is a wise business practice. Employers should always strive to follow their policies and also work to make sure recruitment efforts are fair to everyone who wants to apply. Where corners are cut or policies ignored, the situation increases the risk that someone will be able to argue that they were passed over for illegal reasons, such as age, race, gender, disability, etc. Probably not the news you were hoping to hear but I hope it helps. -Don